California is once again at the forefront of tackling pollution. Why does it always seem to require California to challenge the way we manage our environment? California has a great tradition of supporting higher education, and that may play a role, but I’m sure that its huge economy is what really gives policy leverage to the state. I don’t think the average American needs to be convinced that limiting the amount of pollutants in our air and water and land is a really good idea. It should simply be policy that industry should prevent pollution as much as possible. And why not? The cost for doing so would be added to the price of what we are consuming. Americans are ready for that, it’s just industry that is fighting it tooth and nail. Why? Because they want more profit, and they get that if their products are cheaper or if they don’t have to spend money to keep their businesses from polluting the environment. But, guess what? You the consumer will still pay in the long run. If our taxes are needed to clean superfund sites, or you have children or elderly relatives with breathing problems that send them to the hospital, your money will find a way out of your wallet to pay for these environmental infractions. There is no free lunch.

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The UN has released a dark picture with regard to the state and availability of our future global natural resources. This is a serious issue, and I believe that humanity is still struggling to understand the ramifications of our effect on the air, fresh water, oceans and non-human life of the Earth. Some completely reject the idea that we have collectively had a negative influence over our environment. I think this is simple wishful thinking, and I think this is seductive because consciously or sub-, the implications are that our lifestyles are in for some big changes, and that is not what we want to contemplate. A simple example would be the drought being suffered by Georgia and its bordering states. Of course, naysayers would say it’s simply an act of nature, there have been droughts before and there will be again. Try to bottle up those words and drink them, why don’t cha? Many parts of the world have suffered from drought, and the terrible consequences wrought by it, including environmental destruction and human fatality. It happens. Supply and demand is a very simple concept, and fresh water supplies are not unlimited.

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Another oil spill has polluted the waters off the west coast, this time, in San Francisco Bay. It seems there is some controversy with regard to the Coast Guard’s initial underestimate of the magnitude of the spill, in addition to the relatively long time it took to make such an estimate. Critics argue that much more of the oil could have been contained, had they offered a more speedy and accurate estimate. This is all very important, of course, because this area contains a wealth of marine life and birds that are being adversely affected by the oil. Local fisheries are worried about herring, salmon and smelt, while birds are being captured and taken to rehabilitation facilities to remove the oil from their feathers and skin and local marine experts will be tasked with monitoring the spill’s effects on harbor seals and sea lions.

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