A Hazardous Situation

Margaret Mead said it best: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” Certainly this is true of the various examples of popular epidemiology that we have seen: several concerned citizens, aware at some basic level of an ongoing problem, join together to find answers to their questions and seek justice for those wronged. Deborah Stone (The Policy Paradox, 2001) would call these groups concentrated interests, people closely connected to an issue and heavily invested in achieving their desired outcome, which in most cases consisted of restitution to those who suffered, reparation of damage done to the environment, and better preventive measures by corporations and regulatory agencies.

While the emotionally-charged stories they told were successful in obtaining compensation for victims and cleanup funds not only for their specific sites but for future incidents (i.e. the 1986 Superfund reauthorization), it is doubtful that citizen suits have done much to enhance preventative steps taken except those that stem from a corporation's self-interest in not facing lawsuits of potentially millions of dollars. Not much has changed with the EPA either: a lack of funding and time plus regulations that place the burden on the EPA to show the hazardous nature of new chemicals results in hundreds of untested, potentially unsafe chemicals in the marketplace.

Despite the interest of what could easily be millions of people, whether they be victims or past participants of popular epidemiological studies, environmentalists, or people concerned with their health and the health of their children, these rules are not likely to change anytime soon because of the billions of dollars it would mean for a handful of corporations. According to Stone's logic, the concentrated interest overpowers the dispersed one, and so this is the system our society has chosen: a system that completely disregards the precautionary principle and exposes each of us to thousands of potential risks each day (contrast that with Europe, where rigorous testing is required before a new chemical can be introduced). Yet no one complains forcefully; that is, until another new chemical wreaks havoc and the public cries in outrage against corporate greed and indifference and bureaucratic timidness. But who among us will really stand up for the precautionary principle?

Week In Review

For the week of June 20-26, 2009:

Monday/Tuesday: Invisible Children's How It Ends Lobby Days for northern Uganda. We heard from a lot of great people, including Luis Morena-Ocampo, several high-ranking officials from the Ugandan government, including their Minister of Defense, and Tom Shadyac. Of course, I also got the chance to catch up with my IC friends, including Justin and Dyanna.

But the best part came Tuesday. By far the best lobbying experience I've had (when a discussion of peak performances came up on Sunday, this was definitely it for me). I got to listen to Senator Mark Warner's head of homeland security and foreign affairs talk about what he knew, then tell him why I cared about Invisible Children, why he should support the bill and what it would do (the bill is the "LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act").

But even more interesting then that is what he said the senator was up to. Apparently, on Tuesday Senator Warner was convening with other Democratic senators to discuss the merits of the various climate change bills that had been introduced in Congress. It could be a sign that he'll be an ally for strengthening the Waxman-Markey bill in the Senate, but more likely my guess is that he doesn't want to see businesses impacted too harshly.

Wednesday: Basshound @ the 8x10 in Baltimore. Great show; much love to these guys, as always.

Thursday: (my day off) Historic Senate hearing on mountaintop removal. More about that here.

Friday: Big day. First off, went down to the EPA building to protest mountaintop removal.

But the big part came after that. I headed over to the Capitol building for a rally to support strengthening for the ACES Act, from which we split up into three groups to hit the steps of all three House office buildings with banners and big green hard hats. Once we were moved from there, we proceeded to flood the hallways of all three House buildings, talking to every representative we could about strengthening ACES. Finally we took a break and regrouped in the cafeteria of the Longsworth building around 4, then moved out back to the Capitol building to make our way to the House floor in time for Minority Leader John Boehner's (R-OH) hour-long rant. As he finally yielded and the vote began, we were shepherded out of our seats and downstairs only for us to come right back up, just in time to catch the end of the vote. 219 for versus 212 against and ACES passes! Barely. Now onto the Senate battle.

Saturday/Sunday: 1Sky leadership training. And just in time; passing ACES through the Senate will be tough. I have to credit this blog, and my new Twitter account, to this training. And so it begins.