Well, it didn't take long to realize that our worst nightmares vis a vis the Maine environment really are about to come true. I think this lede from the Kennebec Journal about sums it up:
Gov. Paul LePage has proposed zoning 10 million acres of northern Maine for development, repealing laws that require manufacturers to take back recyclable goods for disposal and reversing a ban on the use of a chemical linked to cancer in children's products.
Holy Cow! Have you ever seen so much and such diverse SUCK crammed into a single sentence?Kudos to KJ reporter Beth Quimby. My late and wonderful high school Journalism teacher Ms. Lane would have definitely dispensed a gold star for that one. I mean, cripes...10 MILLION acres, repealing recycling laws, reversing a chemical ban, and children's cancer all right there in the lede.
And, of course, as always with LePage it just gets worse! LePage also wants to:
* Make Maine's environmental laws conform to less stringent federal standards;
* Require a cost-benefit analysis for all rulemakings;
* Relax air emissions removal standards, especially for smaller projects;
I especially love that second one. Picture this kind of analysis: "Well, this toxic byproduct causes mind-controlling brain slugs to grow on the skulls of the elderly, but a ban on dumping it into Auburn Lake will cost businesses $100,000 a year! RULE CHANGE DENIED!!"
Read more at lepagefiles.blogspot.com