Dangerous levels of E. Coli Found in 500 Mile Stretch of the Ohio River

Bob Driehaus reports from Cincinnati for the New York Times that: "Six states bordering the Ohio River are joining the Environmental Protection Agency in the largest study of its kind to identify and reduce dangerous levels of bacteria that plague the waterway. Unsafe levels of fecal coliform, or E. coli, have been identified in about 500 miles of the 981-mile river, which stretches from Pittsburgh to the Mississippi River at Cairo, Ill.

The E. coli, or fecal coliform is a bacteria that provides indications for researchers that human and or animal sewage contaminants have entered the waterway and often indicates the presence of other possible disease causing bacteria or viruses that exist in the fecal material. The fecal material can enter the water by one of several methods; by the direct release from birds or mammals, from farm runoffs and or as a result of precipitation from heavy storms, and or from possible overflows caused by home owner's septic systems. Diseases caused by the water propagated bacteria and viruses can comprise outbreaks of dysentery, infections of the ear, stomach flu or bacterial gastroenteritis, typhoid fever, viral and hepatitis A and generally affects humans more often than aquatic life.

Mr. Driehaus reports that: "The pathogens can sicken swimmers and others who come in close contact with the water. The river also provides about five million people with drinking water, including residents of Cincinnati, Louisville, Ky., and the suburbs of Pittsburgh, though typical bacteria levels do not pose a threat to safely treating the water."

The E.P.A. "analysis, which officials plan to finish next year, will identify how much bacteria sewage treatment plants, factories and farms, among others, can discharge into the river without exceeding safety standards," Mr. Driehaus reports. The states that are facing possible pathogenic pollution risks, are "Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia ..., as well as the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission, which has collected weekly water samples during the recreational season, May through October, since 1992," according to the Times. Mr. Driehaus continues his reporting by explaining that: "According to the E.P.A., carrying out the recommendations of a similar study led to the restoration of healthy oxygen levels in the Middle Cuyahoga River in northeastern Ohio through the removal of one dam and modification of another. After another study, oyster harvesting was revived in Lynnhaven Bay in Virginia after bacteria pollution caused by boaters, sewer systems, farms and pet waste was reduced. But cleaning up the Ohio poses a much bigger challenge because its watershed spans seven states and covers 204,000 square miles."

Mr. Driehaus reports that it is common knowledge that: "In 49 cities and towns, combined sewer and storm water systems release untreated sewage directly into the river during heavy rains. Upgrading those systems will cost billions of dollars, officials said, and federal regulations require sewage treatment plant operators to assemble long-term improvement plans, which will be taken into consideration in the new study."

Mr. Driehaus adds: "Runoff of manure used as fertilizer and waste from animal farms, referred to as nonpoint-source pollution, are also major bacteria contributors. The E.P.A. and the states have little authority to force farmers to change their practices, and the study cannot mandate changes to farms." E.P.A. coordinator for West Virginia, David Montali remarked that: "Everybody recognizes the need to reduce the bacteria levels," adding his inability to guarantee if the proposed report will “be a driving force to make things happen.”

The Times includes the opinion of "Kevin Kratt, a project manager with Tetratech, a private firm that was hired as a consultant, (who) said he hoped the study’s wealth of new information on pollution sources would enable the E.P.A. and the states to better focus money on projects that yield the biggest improvements in water quality." Mr. Kratt added: “The publicity generated may drive some nonpoint-source improvements as well.”

Also adding her opinion, as reported by Mr. Driehaus was: "Jennifer Clark, an environmental protection specialist in Illinois, (who) said the study’s intention was “to get people on board and aware that it needs to be dealt with.” Ms. Clark concluded by stating her belief that: “A lot of people want to choose a smaller watershed because it would be easier,... but we need to hit this on the head and find out our biggest problems and where we can make a difference.” With rising population levels in the six state region added to the increasing possibility for greater fecal coliform contamination, the E.P.A. study should yield valuable information that can help local, state and federal officials make decisions that will effect millions of people. The question remains, however, how such a massive cleanup will be funded?

The Citizen's Oath: More Important Now Than Ever!

America faces an unsure future that will require the work and dedication of all American citizens to come together and assume our duty to to stand alongside the government of we the people and take responsibility for the path our nation is to follow into the future.

Michael Weiser writes in the Miami Herald that the Citizen's Oath "was authored by former Pennsylvania Sen. Harris Wofford and other prominent Americans convened by the National Conference on Citizenship. The Citizens Oath reminds us of our responsibilities as Americans by asking us to consider our civic duties, even as our new president considers his:"

"The Citizen's Oath"

As an American I embrace the responsibilities of self-government.

• I pledge to learn and live the principles set forth in the charters that define our freedoms: the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

• I pledge to keep myself informed about the challenges that face our country and world and to work with others to meet those challenges.

• I pledge to assist persons in need and thereby strengthen the bonds among us.

• I pledge to register and vote when I am of age, in every election in which I am eligible.

• I pledge to conduct myself according to the highest standards of civic decency, to foster those standards throughout my community and to expect them of all public officials.

Through these acts, I commit myself to building a more just, humane and ethical nation, for my own and all future generations.

Obama Not Only Spoke to the U.S.; He Spoke to the World

President Barack Obama's Inaugural Address not only found an American audience of joyful supporters, but his speech extended beyond the borders of the United States and found a world-wide audience that: "... listened with a mixture of optimism and caution." Obama filled his address with references "pledging to help the people of poor nations make their farms flourish and clean waters flow, and promising that America would “play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.”"

Sharon Otterman and Alan Cowell explained in the New York Times that Mr. Obama laid claim to the role that American leadership would once again assume; "and with it, take on the hopes of a world battered by war and recession."

The Times reporters perceptibly pointed out that: "While there was jubilation that a difficult era, marked most profoundly by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the wars that followed, might be drawing to a close, there was also skepticism that one man, no matter his aspirations, would be able to bring about such sweeping change."

Obama begins his presidency under the most difficult of conditions that confront not only the United States but have reached a point that includes considerations of global proportions. The breadth and scope of the number of problems that Obama faces seem so daunting that it truly seems to require more effort than a single American president can achieve alone. Just as Obama called on the American people during his Inaugural address to be prepared for difficult times ahead that will require real sacrifices; Obama must find the inner strength and display the credulity that will allow him to carry his message of change to the world and gain the support of leaders across the globe to solve the difficulties humanity faces as a species populating the Earth.

Transcript of President Barack Obama's Inaugural Address

Throughout America’s history, there have been some years that simply rolled into the next without much notice or fanfare. Then there are the years that come along once in a generation – the kind that mark a clean break from a troubled past, and set a new course for our nation.

This is one of those years.

We start 2009 in the midst of a crisis unlike any we have seen in our lifetime – a crisis that has only deepened over the last few weeks. Nearly two million jobs have now been lost, and on Friday we are likely to learn that we lost more jobs last year than at any time since World War II. Just in the past year, another 2.8 million Americans who want and need full-time work have had to settle for part-time jobs. Manufacturing has hit a twenty-eight year low. Many businesses cannot borrow or make payroll. Many families cannot pay their bills or their mortgage. Many workers are watching their life savings disappear. And many, many Americans are both anxious and uncertain of what the future will hold.

I don’t believe it’s too late to change course, but it will be if we don’t take dramatic action as soon as possible. If nothing is done, this recession could linger for years. The unemployment rate could reach double digits. Our economy could fall $1 trillion short of its full capacity, which translates into more than $12,000 in lost income for a family of four. We could lose a generation of potential and promise, as more young Americans are forced to forgo dreams of college or the chance to train for the jobs of the future. And our nation could lose the competitive edge that has served as a foundation for our strength and standing in the world.

In short, a bad situation could become dramatically worse.

This crisis did not happen solely by some accident of history or normal turn of the business cycle, and we won’t get out of it by simply waiting for a better day to come, or relying on the worn-out dogmas of the past. We arrived at this point due to an era of profound irresponsibility that stretched from corporate boardrooms to the halls of power in Washington, DC. For years, too many Wall Street executives made imprudent and dangerous decisions, seeking profits with too little regard for risk, too little regulatory scrutiny, and too little accountability. Banks made loans without concern for whether borrowers could repay them, and some borrowers took advantage of cheap credit to take on debt they couldn’t afford. Politicians spent taxpayer money without wisdom or discipline, and too often focused on scoring political points instead of the problems they were sent here to solve. The result has been a devastating loss of trust and confidence in our economy, our financial markets, and our government.

Now, the very fact that this crisis is largely of our own making means that it is not beyond our ability to solve. Our problems are rooted in past mistakes, not our capacity for future greatness. It will take time, perhaps many years, but we can rebuild that lost trust and confidence. We can restore opportunity and prosperity. We should never forget that our workers are still more productive than any on Earth. Our universities are still the envy of the world. We are still home to the most brilliant minds, the most creative entrepreneurs, and the most advanced technology and innovation that history has ever known. And we are still the nation that has overcome great fears and improbable odds. If we act with the urgency and seriousness that this moment requires, I know that we can do it again.

That is why I have moved quickly to work with my economic team and leaders of both parties on an American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan that will immediately jumpstart job creation and long-term growth.

It’s a plan that represents not just new policy, but a whole new approach to meeting our most urgent challenges. For if we hope to end this crisis, we must end the culture of anything goes that helped create it – and this change must begin in Washington. It is time to trade old habits for a new spirit of responsibility. It is time to finally change the ways of Washington so that we can set a new and better course for America.

There is no doubt that the cost of this plan will be considerable. It will certainly add to the budget deficit in the short-term. But equally certain are the consequences of doing too little or nothing at all, for that will lead to an even greater deficit of jobs, incomes, and confidence in our economy. It is true that we cannot depend on government alone to create jobs or long-term growth, but at this particular moment, only government can provide the short-term boost necessary to lift us from a recession this deep and severe. Only government can break the vicious cycles that are crippling our economy – where a lack of spending leads to lost jobs which leads to even less spending; where an inability to lend and borrow stops growth and leads to even less credit.

That is why we need to act boldly and act now to reverse these cycles. That’s why we need to put money in the pockets of the American people, create new jobs, and invest in our future. That’s why we need to re-start the flow of credit and restore the rules of the road that will ensure a crisis like this never happens again.

That work begins with this plan – a plan I am confident will save or create at least three million jobs over the next few years. It is not just another public works program. It’s a plan that recognizes both the paradox and the promise of this moment – the fact that there are millions of Americans trying to find work, even as, all around the country, there is so much work to be done. That’s why we’ll invest in priorities like energy and education; health care and a new infrastructure that are necessary to keep us strong and competitive in the 21st century. That’s why the overwhelming majority of the jobs created will be in the private sector, while our plan will save the public sector jobs of teachers, cops, firefighters and others who provide vital services.

To finally spark the creation of a clean energy economy, we will double the production of alternative energy in the next three years. We will modernize more than 75% of federal buildings and improve the energy efficiency of two million American homes, saving consumers and taxpayers billions on our energy bills. In the process, we will put Americans to work in new jobs that pay well and can’t be outsourced – jobs building solar panels and wind turbines; constructing fuel-efficient cars and buildings; and developing the new energy technologies that will lead to even more jobs, more savings, and a cleaner, safer planet in the bargain.

To improve the quality of our health care while lowering its cost, we will make the immediate investments necessary to ensure that within five years, all of America’s medical records are computerized. This will cut waste, eliminate red tape, and reduce the need to repeat expensive medical tests. But it just won’t save billions of dollars and thousands of jobs – it will save lives by reducing the deadly but preventable medical errors that pervade our health care system.

To give our children the chance to live out their dreams in a world that’s never been more competitive, we will equip tens of thousands of schools, community colleges, and public universities with 21st century classrooms, labs, and libraries. We’ll provide new computers, new technology, and new training for teachers so that students in Chicago and Boston can compete with kids in Beijing for the high-tech, high-wage jobs of the future.

To build an economy that can lead this future, we will begin to rebuild America. Yes, we’ll put people to work repairing crumbling roads, bridges, and schools by eliminating the backlog of well-planned, worthy and needed infrastructure projects. But we’ll also do more to retrofit America for a global economy. That means updating the way we get our electricity by starting to build a new smart grid that will save us money, protect our power sources from blackout or attack, and deliver clean, alternative forms of energy to every corner of our nation. It means expanding broadband lines across America, so that a small business in a rural town can connect and compete with their counterparts anywhere in the world. And it means investing in the science, research, and technology that will lead to new medical breakthroughs, new discoveries, and entire new industries.

Finally, this recovery and reinvestment plan will provide immediate relief to states, workers, and families who are bearing the brunt of this recession. To get people spending again, 95% of working families will receive a $1,000 tax cut – the first stage of a middle-class tax cut that I promised during the campaign and will include in our next budget. To help Americans who have lost their jobs and can’t find new ones, we’ll continue the bipartisan extensions of unemployment insurance and health care coverage to help them through this crisis. Government at every level will have to tighten its belt, but we’ll help struggling states avoid harmful budget cuts, as long as they take responsibility and use the money to maintain essential services like police, fire, education, and health care.

I understand that some might be skeptical of this plan. Our government has already spent a good deal of money, but we haven’t yet seen that translate into more jobs or higher incomes or renewed confidence in our economy. That’s why the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan won’t just throw money at our problems – we’ll invest in what works. The true test of the policies we’ll pursue won’t be whether they’re Democratic or Republican ideas, but whether they create jobs, grow our economy, and put the American Dream within reach of the American people.

Instead of politicians doling out money behind a veil of secrecy, decisions about where we invest will be made transparently, and informed by independent experts wherever possible. Every American will be able to hold Washington accountable for these decisions by going online to see how and where their tax dollars are being spent. And as I announced yesterday, we will launch an unprecedented effort to eliminate unwise and unnecessary spending that has never been more unaffordable for our nation and our children’s future than it is right now.

We have to make tough choices and smart investments today so that as the economy recovers, the deficit starts to come down. We cannot have a solid recovery if our people and our businesses don’t have confidence that we’re getting our fiscal house in order. That’s why our goal is not to create a slew of new government programs, but a foundation for long-term economic growth.

That also means an economic recovery plan that is free from earmarks and pet projects. I understand that every member of Congress has ideas on how to spend money. Many of these projects are worthy, and benefit local communities. But this emergency legislation must not be the vehicle for those aspirations. This must be a time when leaders in both parties put the urgent needs of our nation above our own narrow interests.

Now, this recovery plan alone will not solve all the problems that led us into this crisis. We must also work with the same sense of urgency to stabilize and repair the financial system we all depend on. That means using our full arsenal of tools to get credit flowing again to families and business, while restoring confidence in our markets. It means launching a sweeping effort to address the foreclosure crisis so that we can keep responsible families in their homes. It means preventing the catastrophic failure of financial institutions whose collapse could endanger the entire economy, but only with maximum protections for taxpayers and a clear understanding that government support for any company is an extraordinary action that must come with significant restrictions on the firms that receive support. And it means reforming a weak and outdated regulatory system so that we can better withstand financial shocks and better protect consumers, investors, and businesses from the reckless greed and risk-taking that must never endanger our prosperity again.

No longer can we allow Wall Street wrongdoers to slip through regulatory cracks. No longer can we allow special interests to put their thumbs on the economic scales. No longer can we allow the unscrupulous lending and borrowing that leads only to destructive cycles of bubble and bust.

It is time to set a new course for this economy, and that change must begin now. We should have an open and honest discussion about this recovery plan in the days ahead, but I urge Congress to move as quickly as possible on behalf of the American people. For every day we wait or point fingers or drag our feet, more Americans will lose their jobs. More families will lose their savings. More dreams will be deferred and denied. And our nation will sink deeper into a crisis that, at some point, we may not be able to reverse.

That is not the country I know, and it is not a future I will accept as President of the United States. A world that depends on the strength of our economy is now watching and waiting for America to lead once more. And that is what we will do.

It will not come easy or happen overnight, and it is altogether likely that things may get worse before they get better. But that is all the more reason for Congress to act without delay. I know the scale of this plan is unprecedented, but so is the severity of our situation. We have already tried the wait-and-see approach to our problems, and it is the same approach that helped lead us to this day of reckoning.

That is why the time has come to build a 21st century economy in which hard work and responsibility are once again rewarded. That’s why I’m asking Congress to work with me and my team day and night, on weekends if necessary, to get the plan passed in the next few weeks. That’s why I’m calling on all Americans – Democrats and Republicans – to put good ideas ahead of the old ideological battles; a sense of common purpose above the same narrow partisanship; and insist that the first question each of us asks isn’t “What’s good for me?” but “What’s good for the country my children will inherit?”

More than any program or policy, it is this spirit that will enable us to confront this challenge with the same spirit that has led previous generations to face down war, depression, and fear itself. And if we do – if we are able to summon that spirit again; if are able to look out for one another, and listen to one another, and do our part for our nation and for posterity, then I have no doubt that years from now, we will look back on 2009 as one of those years that marked another new and hopeful beginning for the United States of America. Thank you, God Bless You, and may God Bless America.

Krugman Banishes Supply-Siders: Hooray?

Coming out swinging like a heavyweight prizefighter, Paul Krugman lands a series of devastating blows to the glass chins of all those Reagan-loving, Laffer-curving, supply side faith-healing conservative ideologues of the last three decades who elevated a bunch of carnival clown politicians to the heights of sainthood in order to squeeze them all into positions of power and control over America. Krugman proclaims the end of: "Old-fashioned voodoo economics — the belief in tax-cut magic — has been banished from civilized discourse. The supply-side cult has shrunk to the point that it contains only cranks, charlatans, and Republicans."

But the time for rejoicing is not yet upon us as Krugman adds: "But recent news reports suggest that many influential people, including Federal Reserve officials, bank regulators, and, possibly, members of the incoming Obama administration, have become devotees of a new kind of voodoo: the belief that by performing elaborate financial rituals we can keep dead banks walking."

To drive home his point, Krugman conjures up "a hypothetical bank" he decides to call "Gothamgroup, or Gotham for short." Krugman sets the terms of his example by saying that: "On paper, Gotham has $2 trillion in assets and $1.9 trillion in liabilities, so that it has a net worth of $100 billion. But a substantial fraction of its assets — say, $400 billion worth — are mortgage-backed securities and other toxic waste. If the bank tried to sell these assets, it would get no more than $200 billion." This establishes "Gotham" in Krugman's tale as "a zombie bank: it’s still operating, but the reality is that it has already gone bust. Its stock isn’t totally worthless — it still has a market capitalization of $20 billion — but that value is entirely based on the hope that shareholders will be rescued by a government bailout."

Then Krugman questions the obvious: "Why would the government bail Gotham out? Because it plays a central role in the financial system. When Lehman was allowed to fail, financial markets froze, and for a few weeks the world economy teetered on the edge of collapse. Since we don’t want a repeat performance, Gotham has to be kept functioning. But how can that be done?" Krugman dons his 'cap of bailout speculation' and comes up with the following possibility: "Well, the government could simply give Gotham a couple of hundred billion dollars, enough to make it solvent again. But this would, of course, be a huge gift to Gotham’s current shareholders — and it would also encourage excessive risk-taking in the future. Still, the possibility of such a gift is what’s now supporting Gotham’s stock price."

Such an approach seems overly excessive, so Krugman places his right hand upon his Nobel and decries: "A better approach would be to do what the government did with zombie savings and loans at the end of the 1980s: it seized the defunct banks, cleaning out the shareholders. Then it transferred their bad assets to a special institution, the Resolution Trust Corporation; paid off enough of the banks’ debts to make them solvent; and sold the fixed-up banks to new owners."

Alas, Krugman laments: "The current buzz suggests, however, that policy makers aren’t willing to take either of these approaches. Instead, they’re reportedly gravitating toward a compromise approach: moving toxic waste from private banks’ balance sheets to a publicly owned “bad bank” or “aggregator bank” that would resemble the Resolution Trust Corporation, but without seizing the banks first." Which leads Krugman to explain that: "Sheila Bair, the chairwoman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, recently tried to describe how this would work: “The aggregator bank would buy the assets at fair value.” But what does “fair value” mean?" Krugman returns to his fictitious bank and remarks: "In my example, Gothamgroup is insolvent because the alleged $400 billion of toxic waste on its books is actually worth only $200 billion. The only way a government purchase of that toxic waste can make Gotham solvent again is if the government pays much more than private buyers are willing to offer."

Krugman suggests that: "Now, maybe private buyers aren’t willing to pay what toxic waste is really worth: “We don’t have really any rational pricing right now for some of these asset categories,” Ms. Bair says. But should the government be in the business of declaring that it knows better than the market what assets are worth? And is it really likely that paying “fair value,” whatever that means, would be enough to make Gotham solvent again?"

Krugman cuts to the quick: "What I suspect is that policy makers — possibly without realizing it — are gearing up to attempt a bait-and-switch: a policy that looks like the cleanup of the savings and loans, but in practice amounts to making huge gifts to bank shareholders at taxpayer expense, disguised as “fair value” purchases of toxic assets."

Krugman is confounded and questions the governments actions: "Why go through these contortions? The answer seems to be that Washington remains deathly afraid of the N-word — nationalization. The truth is that Gothamgroup and its sister institutions are already wards of the state, utterly dependent on taxpayer support; but nobody wants to recognize that fact and implement the obvious solution: an explicit, though temporary, government takeover. Hence the popularity of the new voodoo, which claims, as I said, that elaborate financial rituals can reanimate dead banks." This sort of Washingtonian-think approach hits Krugman squarely in the gut with a sharp blow reflective of the power of irrational thought and its incompatability with a useful and forward looking plan for economic recovery that forces a doubled over Krugman to unhappily admit: "Unfortunately, the price of this retreat into superstition may be high. I hope I’m wrong, but I suspect that taxpayers are about to get another raw deal — and that we’re about to get another financial rescue plan that fails to do the job." Lets hope even Nobel winners can be drastically wrong; but from the smell emanating from Wall Street and the olfactory deficency that has overtaken Washington; things aren't looking so swell right now.