…as a result pollution.

History of the Global Now
Current Event Reflection
Terese Howard
9/17/09

“Runoff from all but the largest farms is essentially unregulated by many of the federal laws intended to prevent pollution and protect drinking water sources. The Clean Water Act of 1972 largely regulates only chemicals or contaminants that move through pipes or ditches, which means it does not typically apply to waste that is sprayed on a field and seeps into groundwater.
As a result[my emphasis], many of the agricultural pollutants that contaminate drinking water sources are often subject only to state or county regulations. And those laws have failed to protect some residents living nearby.”

I would like to comment on three words in this article entitled Health Ills Abound as Farm Runoff Fouls Wells which discusses the pollution issues with manure in mega dairy farms.

“As a result.”

In context these words link the farmer to the legal system. In the quote above what is deemed as “farmer-created-pollution” is put as the result of a lack of laws on the matter. Cause – lack of laws, effect – pollution.

But where is the connection between legal absence and pollution? In the days before agricultural laws on this land pollution was far less of an issue then it is today. Other factors must be involved here.

Let me just list a few: the people who eat the meat and dairy, the stores that buy and market the meat and dairy, the grain that is grown for the cattle to eat, the people who grow that grain, the market system that makes it profitable to keep cattle in mass.

These factors and countless more are all in part responsible for the water pollution. In order the address this problem then much more needs to change than the laws.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/18/us/18dairy.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&hp