When Water Becomes a Precious Commodity Worth Shooting Someone Over . . .

Sigh . . . . Gee -- who coulda' thunk it could happen?:

Crisis In West Virginia: Wal-Mart Calls In Police To Guard Bottled Water Delivery

The Federal Emergency Management Authority has confirmed that it will deliver more than 1 million liters (264,172 gallons) of clean water to residents of the nine counties in West Virginia after a chemical used by the coal industry spilled into the Elk River on Thursday.

Approximately 300,000 people in West Virginia were told not to drink or use their water after approximately 5,000 gallons of 4-Methylcyclohexane Methanol (MCHM) — a chemical used to wash coal of impurities — spilled from a tank owned by Freedom Industries. West Virginia American Water Company president Jeff McIntyre warned consumers not to use tap water for baby formula, brushing teeth, or showering. “Toilet flushing only,” he said.

The reports sent people rushing to stock up on bottled water, stripping store shelves around the area, including local Wal-Marts. Tension over the availability of clean water in the area seemed to be growing. At around 3:00pm, the Kanawha County police scanner lit up with reports of a shipment of water that was about to come in to a nearby Wal-Mart, asking for police presence while employees could restock.

“It was chaos, that’s what it was,” convenience store cashier Danny Cardwell told FoxNews.com.

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/01/10/3149971/crisis-wal-mart-west-virginia-water-delivery/


While The Gadfly does empathize with the people of West Virginia in their ongoing fresh water crisis, The Gadfly will also tell you that it tries his patience in doing so.  You see dear readers, West Virginia, not unlike Texas and several other southern, Republican controlled states has a regulatory framework that leans heavily in favor of the oil, gas, coal and chemical manufacturing industries.  Translation - hardly much regulation at all nearly to the point of allowing the industries to police themselves.  What could possibly go wrong - right?

The Gadfly realizes that, considering the present circumstances, it might be a bit harsh to state this - but it needs to be said.  At some point, the people need to make a clear and unambiguous choice as to what is more important to yourselves -- and those two choices are:

Choice #1:  Profit margins of the oil, gas, coal and chemical corporations and the capital gains of their Wall Street investors.

Or,

Choice #2:  You and your family's health, having clean water to drink and air to breathe, and the preservation of your state's natural resources such as forests, lakes, rivers and land.

Now - if The Gadfly were presented with those choices, The Gadfly would not have to ponder much longer than it took his eyes to get to the words "family's health" before he made his decision.

But you know what dear readers, as long as the big money of these companies is allowed to continue flooding the election process, and for as long as people are apathetic about it all, not much is going to change --- unless that is --- we the people come to our collective senses and demand change occur, and then, if that doesn't work, force change to occur.  Interpret that statement any manner that suits you.

Nonetheless - Y'all better start thinking about it dear readers, for the odds are that it will be the police guarding bottle water being delivered to your local Walmart some day soon.



----TFG