Editorial: Demanding More From American Corportions

Global warming is not some scheme dreamt up by the liberal left, nor an issue that the conservative right can toss aside as “myth,” but a real issue that is and has been affecting the world for many years. In the wake of West Virginia’s recent water contamination debacle, The Harbinger believes that the United States should better work with the Environmental Protection Agency to create regulations that both encourage safe business practices and ensure a clean future for American citizens.

Climate change is something that has affected Americans since the beginning of industrialization. Machinery and harsh chemicals became an effective way to produce goods in a modern economy. While it may be hard to reverse centuries of damage to the Earth, it is quite easy to prevent it from getting worse.

Thorough regulation of large factories and production plants can help foster a more global example of clean business practices. The U.S. is indeed a leader in green technology, but it has the opportunity to keep its local communities safe by decreasing pollution and keeping tighter restrictions on American corporations.

Personal environmental awareness is always encouraged, but no one’s recycling and compost bin will matter if a large company dumps toxins into fresh drinking water. When the BP oil spill occurred in 2010, volunteers helped put the Gulf Shore back together, but clean-up groups didn’t necessarily make BP’s oil spill hurt the fishing industry any less. That massive disaster shouldn’t have occurred in the first place. America’s individual clean campaigns don’t hold a candle to dirty businesses.

Although the issue of climate change is global, action can be taken locally. That’s why it’s time to demand more from Kansas’s representatives. Time and time again they have expressed their disdain for the Environmental Protection Agency by trying to defund and dismantle it.   Writing to Congressmen and women like local representative Kevin Yoder to make them aware of the citizens’ concerns about the environment is not only important, but imperative for a sustainable future and a cleaner, safer today.

Kansans, as people who live in a state that has a primarily agriculture-based economy, know that the environment factors greatly into the success of certain farm enterprises. Climate change and unpredictable weather have sent fear into many farmers for years, but as forecasters chart more and more unusual climatic patterns, fears about crop and livestock loss are materializing quicker. In protection of both its businesses and citizens alike, stricter laws should be put in place to save the earth. The time for environmental reform is now.

Individual Staff Opinions:

Morgan Krakow: Junior

Mike Thibeou: Junior

Sophie Tulp: Senior

Sarah Berger: Senior