As Petrochemical Industry Extends Along Ohio River, Pollution Follows Close Behind | WOSU Radio
Day: December 8, 2019💾
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“People are flushing toilets 10 times, 15 times,” EPA rules to be reviewed – Vox
President Donald Trump’s latest effort to reshape US environmental regulations appears to involve toilets.
During a small business event at the White House Friday, Trump announced he has ordered a federal review of water efficiency standards pertaining to bathroom fixtures.
“People are flushing toilets 10 times, 15 times as opposed to once. They end up using more water,” Trump said, complaining that water flow in other fixtures has slowed to a trickle. “You can’t wash your hands practically, there’s so little water comes out of the faucet, and the end result is you leave the faucet on and it takes you much longer to wash your hands, you end up using the same amount of water.”
Although Trump said during the event that the “EPA is looking at [water flow] very strongly, at my suggestion,” this review is actually mandated under 2018 legislation that directs the Environmental Protection Agency to investigate water regulations adopted before 2012.
These include the agency’s WaterSense program, which was first launched in 2006 in order to reduce the water use of fixtures like toilets. The requirement that toilets use a set amount of water began on the federal level in 1992, according to the Associated Press, when President George H.W. Bush signed the Energy Policy Act, a law mandating any toilets installed in homes after 1994 use 1.6 gallons of water or less per flush.
Another Good Jobs Report.
After another good jobs report, the spin doctors were out there talking about how bad the economy really is …. 🤔
The truth is any good economy is going to have it’s weaknesses and it’s problems. Poverty is always going to be a problem in certain parts of country — rural areas and those with more people of color. A good economy is helping to lift those boats, although there should be more targeted programs to help historically disadvantaged communities get the education and assistance they need to relocate to better jobs — if that’s what people want to do.
I don’t think it’s productive to dismiss the good economy because you don’t like the man in the White House, but we should also be realistic and recognize that not all gains are widely shared. We shouldn’t try to overheat an already roaring economy, but target those communities that need the most help now. We should also be contingent that a good economy won’t last forever and encourage people to prepare for the next downturn by savings and building more security into their lives.
The Dark History of Our Obsession With Productivity
As workers, we are obsessed with getting stuff done. No wonder there seems to be a bottomless well of advice, filled with evangelists, gurus, and thought leaders proferring hacks, tools, tricks, and secrets to help us pack more output into the waking hours of our workdays. Productivity software alone accounts for an $82 billion market, according to IBISWorld research.