[dirtyhippyrant]Pollution is such a complex issue. All of those places on that map don't mention anything about CO2 emissions which is probably the biggest issue we are facing, and this is where the US fails in the environmental friendly realm. And sure, the US doesn't burn a whole lot of coal, but we export tons of it so other countries can burn it and take the blame for the problems it causes. We aren't the worst, but it doesn't mean we shouldn't care. If we, as a world, don't stop emitting so much CO2 into the atmosphere, global warming will become a very real and scary problem. I believe we have about 50 years to address this issue. Sure, dumping stuff into our water supply is horrid, and we all need to stop doing that, but if our ice caps continue to melt none of it will really matter.
I take issue with Zengirl saying that hearing about the environment is a lot of political BS that we hear around election time to take our minds off of the real issues. This IS the biggest issue we face. If we don't have a planet to live off of anymore because we've all junked it up and heated it up too much, then healthcare, war, abortion, the budget, immigration, stem cell research, etc. will not matter at all. We won't even have to worry about it. We'll be too busy trying to figure out how to eat.
We all have to work together on this and it seems that there are a whole lot of people who think that it is political or just inconvenient and don't really care. If you have children and want them to be happy in the future, it's time to start caring. Yes it's really difficult and I am also guilty of being a glutonous american consumer. I'm working to change this.
There's a lot we all need to do and I think it's time to stop turning a blind eye to the problem. Sorry if I'm a bleeding hearted liberal gaywad, but I'm probably not wrong on this one.[/dirtyhippyrant]