Holy Toledo!

In writing about the contamination of drinking water in Charleston, West Virginia back in January by a coal-"cleansing" chemical, I wrote,  "The chemical is dissipating as it makes its way downstream to the Kanawha River, then to the Ohio River, a testament to the planet's ability to heal itself."  I take that back.  The chemical in the Kanawha River may have dissipated, but there's still no reason to trust the water supply in West Virginia or in any other of These States, even if the planet does have the ability to cleanse and heal itself, because we keep polluting and wounding it faster than it can repair the damage. 

Case in point: Toledo, Ohio.  The water supply has been threatened there by algae blooms on Lake Erie, a lake that was supposed to have cleansed itself after it got so polluted people had to stop dumping stuff there.  Well, it did, but dumping phosphates in rivers and streams feeding the lake have resulted in greater concentrations of algae in Lake Erie itself, and they've gotten worse over the past decade.  The water in Toledo has been declared safe to drink, and the media will likely stop talking about it as a result, but the algae blooms won't peak there until early fall, and many of the locals there quite smartly don't trust the water supply now.  Ohio Governor John Kasich says that he's comfortable with the quality of the water now, and he says he wouldn't be satisfied with the all-clear signal from Toledo Mayor Michael Collins saying that the water is safe if he weren't, but you have to wonder how sincere he is when he comes from central Ohio, currently lives there as governor, and thus is not one of the 400,000 northwestern Ohio residents affected by the crisis. 

The problem with drinking water in this country is not just due to climate change and pollution but also to a crumbling water treatment infrastructure that Republicans - who are inexplicably doing well in midterm election polls - refuse to invest in . . . least of all Kasich, who came into office canceling infrastructure projects because he said they involved too much government spending.  And the problem is not new.  My own hometown had to deal without water in 1979 when the Jersey City reservoir - to which West Caldwell, New Jersey subscribes - got contaminated.  We've been lucky for 35 years, but I think we may be overdue for a non-drought-related water emergency. 

This is yet one more reason to vote the Republicans out in 2014, but as long as they keep restricting voters in various states - like Ohio - that's not going to happen.  As for the algae in Lake Erie, it makes sense that it reminds me of Pogo's declaration, "We have met the enemy and he is us."  It's a play on "We have met the enemy and they are ours," a message Commodore Oliver Perry sent after defeating the British at the Battle of . . . Lake Erie.