The National Park Service's announcement that they'll be phasing out sales of bottled water in some parks and replacing them with reusable bottles and refilling stations was met with outrage by, and this is a real thing, the powerful bottled water industry. It's true that the disposable plastic bottles are cluttering park garbage cans and, more importantly, cluttering park landscapes, but there's billions of dollars made in selling thirsty people expensive water—so the industry began lobbying Congress put a stop to the plan.
Republicans have been threatening to oblige by barring funding for the changes. Not a problem, says the Park Service.
[T]he Park Service said this week it will keep encouraging the parks to halt their bottled water sales, even with an edict from Congress. Park officials said they have such strong support for these bans that they would go it alone with help from friends and allies: the nonprofit groups that donate to park projects and the companies that have been selling the bottled water in the first place.
“We believe there are plenty of workarounds,” said Shawn Norton, the Park Service’s branch chief for sustainable operations and climate change. “We believe our friends groups and our concessionaires will step up if needed.”
The bottled water industry is
very put out by this notion. It's an insult to this nation's democratic ideal of buying a congressman and making him your own personal shill.
Joseph Doss, president and chief executive of the International Bottled Water Association, said that even if the Park Service can legally use private money to pay for bottled water alternatives, it should be careful about subverting the (possible) will of Congress.
“My thought would be, you certainly don’t want to be doing things that Congress has indicated they don’t want you doing,” Doss said Wednesday.
New product idea: Tiny little bottles of lobbyist tears.
Blast from the Past. At Daily Kos on this date in 2010—Burning the Quran:
It's astonishing that there are people in America who are so far gone in their islamophobia that they actually would celebrate 9/11 with a book burning.
There is no question there is the direct intention to be confrontational. Pastor Jones is honest about his hatred for Muslims. And, let's be clear, he has the Constitutional right to burn books as a way of making a political statement. What, however, does it say about the character of people who feel that the best way to express their views is the stamping out of all conflicting views?
Burning the Quran isn't going to persuade anybody and will most surely offend a great deal of people in this country and around the world. It certainly won't be a shining example of the central point of Jesus Christ's Sermon on the Mount:
And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.
Luke 6:31 |
Tweet of the Day
On
today's Kagro in the Morning show, Fake-Friday Pre-recorded special-edition
Kagro in the Morning takes an especially close look at a few topics to ponder over this weekend: Teen shoots his friend late at night in Billings, MT. His dad’s concern: “I don’t want them to make some BS, liberal deal out of this.” Durango, Colorado News Headline: Man Who Shot at Police Surrenders. David discovers much more to the story, and some questions. Once you’ve mined the earth and milked the service industries, what is there left to frack? Us. David translates from the original British. Tunica, MS: Casino money makes few rich, most painfully poor. A look at how deep the troubles in the Deep South go.
Find us on iTunes | Find us on Stitcher | RSS | Donate to support the show!
High Impact Posts • Top Comments • The Evening Blues