Remember that slogan that we used to hear? “Better living through chemistry.” DuPont came out with the advertising slogan in 1935. Well, that may be true for some products of our chemical age, but not for all, such as PFAS, which stands for poly-perfluoroalykl substances, a group of chemical compounds used in a variety of water resistant fabrics, cleaning fluids, paints, and fire-fighting foams.
They are called “forever chemicals” because they take thousands of years to break down. And if you think that the problem is only a local one to the Great Lakes, hence not affecting us in the East, consider Diamond Alkali, the company that made Agent Orange dumping the residue into the Passaic River to float downstream into the sea.
And who is stuck with the clean-up bill? Not the companies, oh no! That might dissuade investment, the word that is music to every investor’s ear. Maybe it’s time to turn over a few tables in the temple courtyard.
Prayer for the Day
We are tired of hearing excuses from mealy-mouthed politicians,
Afraid of losing campaign contributions from business;
We want companies to take more than moral responsibility
For the harm they have caused through their greed.
Give us, O God, the will to take them to task
So the water we use can be clean again for all to use.
In the name of the One who is our refuge,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
Because no matter wh we are or where we come from, we’re all entitled to the basic human rights of clean air to breathe, clean water to drink, and healthy land to call home.
- Martin Luther King (1929-1968)
As utility companies work to achieve full compliance with clean water standards, Congress must ensure our nation’s most vulnerable are not priced out of life’s most essential resource.
- Martha Fudge, Secretary, Department of Housing and Urban Development
For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground.
I will pour my spirit on your descendants, and my blessing on your offspring.
They shall spring up like a green tamarisk, like willows by flowing streams.
Isaiah 44: 3-4