LANXESS STUPIDITY APPEARS INVULNERABLE TO EITHER REASON OR STRENGTH

A week ago yesterday I posted here about the public, virtual TAG meeting and how a number of TAG members while being too deferential to the professional liars present, nevertheless spoke truth to power. Overall I guess that I was pleased that TAG members, despite their deference, did look carefully at the Draft Risk Assessment (RA), and expressed their concerns and criticisms. Maybe someday Lanxess might develop some empathy, concern, human kindness, honesty and decency. Meanwhile it's all bullsh.t baffles brains and nobody at these virtual, public meetings appear willing to call the company out and confront them. Kind of embarasses the crap out of me that this is what citizen "public consultation" has degenerated into. Esther Thiur, Pat Potter and the early Susan Bryant, before being co-opted, would never have believed it would happen. Can you just imagine a TAG member saying to Lanxess/GHD something like: "Wow I really enjoyed your rendition of the limited facts that we have. Could you possibly top that off with your opinion that your pollution has actually toughened up human beings and wildlife and that therefore your saving tens of millions of dollars on proper toxic waste management has helped everybody?" ......................................................................................................................... Way back in 1994 when I, Rich Clausi and Esther Thur left APTE, I advised the media that I would call a spade a spade. I didn't mention calling a liar a liar and in fact have been extremely judicious at in person meetings to avoid quite that strength of language. I've been much less so here. Regardless when CRA or Chemtura/Crompton/Uniroyal just blatantly lied and got caught I have been known to suggest that their comment was "horse manure". Oh for the good old days when you could at least slightly embarass the Ministry of Environment and or some of their bought and paid for consultants. Today it's all puffery and bullsh.t from them all. And we citizens (especially the younger ones) are putting up with it. ...................................................................................................... I hate to say it but it sure looks as if the old guard's patience is going to have to be rewarded via Lanxess (Uniroyal) doing what they have traditionally done which is screw up royally. The last really good one was the BLE-25 fugitive emissions that blanketed Elmira in the fall of 2010. That resulted in a whole sale changing of the guard at the municipal level (i.e. Woolwich Twn.) followed by the best CPAC (Chemtura Puvblic Advisory Committee) there ever was. That mess did property damage with hopefully limited health damage. We may get lucky again or maybe not but rest assurred as long as we have a very weak Ministry of Environment, very weak municipal council and the short term profit motive driving corporations, another one is coming. Maybe there will be a real awakening and maybe citizens will just go back to sleep again.