All right, I can tell you right now that I'm going to be accused of fear-mongering for this. I know, I understand. One of the most disgusting things about Bush's presidency is how he uses people's fear and ignorance to ram through whatever idiotic, self-serving legislation he wants.
But everything I'm about to tell you is true, and I think we need to do something about it.
There's a chemical called dihydrogen monoxide (DHM) that is one of the most versatile and dangerous substances on the planet. Also called hydroxyl acid, DHM is a potent industrial solvent, and it faces virtually no federal regulation.
First, a little bit of background.
For years now, our government (among others) has been attempting to exploit the military purposes of DHM. Synthetic DHM is fairly rare, but it can be found in nature. Purification is cheap and easy, and so it is hard to control the flow of this deadly substance. Luckily for the Western world, the Middle East is known for its lack of naturally-occurring DHM (though there are indications that large quantities of the chemical have been stored in the Persian Gulf). International bans and regulation are almost non-existent, and what few laws we have in the US are almost exclusively passed by state and local governments. In many places in America, a child could walk into a store and buy enough hydroxyl acid to kill a man with no questions asked.
But the big question: Why is it so dangerous?
The answer is: it kills. I know of no official estimate as to how many people die, worldwide, every year due to DHM exposure, but I would not hesitate to say it is in the tens of thousands. Perhaps the most notorious incident occurred in Indonesia some years ago, and resulted in the deaths of over a hundred thousand people (google it if you don't believe me). Smaller incidents occur worldwide, even in the United States--but the media seems to have effectively blacked out all calls to ban the substance.
Inhalation can cause a painful, strangling death--and DHM is notoriously easy to release into the atmosphere. In its vaporized form it can cause severe burns on contact with the skin. It is the greatest component of acid rain and the negative effects it can have on the environment are too numerous to mention here. Perhaps most terrifyingly, DHM is also a major component of nuclear programs like the one Iran has been so insistent on continuing.
Trust me when I say this is only a short list of the dangers DHM poses to each of us. Do your own research if you must, but every second we waste is another second many of our enemies are working to acquire more DHM. They will never stop trying to get it, and maybe it's time our government did something about it.
Call your Senators, write to congress, do something about this threat, or no one else will.