The Florida Legislature: An Assembly of Polluters ... by gimleteye

If you are a member of the majority party of the Florida legislature these days, you are a Republican and you probably believe that creating jobs means polluting more. There is no other way to interpret the ignorance emanating through proposed legislation: the Pollute Florida More Act. Here's the short version: because the State of Florida failed to protect outstanding Florida waters from storm water runoff from urban areas and big agricultural operations (after more than a decade of dithering), the U.S. EPA has stepped in to impose pollution standards. This action by EPA is required by federal law. It is also a major advancement for a federal environmental agency that was hobbled during the Clinton and Bush terms by political pressures. Tea Party'ers and ordinary Republicans may not understand that the state-based legislative efforts is complemented in Congress, where GOP members and the Chamber of Commerce are plotting to finish off federal environmental laws with new riders and legislation. One long-time environmentalist called the current legislative climate "the worst in his forty year career". This is the direct result-- not of the economic crisis-- but the liberation of federal agencies from the iron grip of lobbyists representing polluters. President Obama said, in early 2009, that he was going to let science guide environmental policy: he didn't just say it, he acted. The polluters know 2012 is around the corner and they are making the most of their opportunities where they have political majorities, like the Florida legislature. The stinking GOP message from Tallahassee: we are too filthy to clean up our own mess.