Dressing up like farmers...

By Phil Dimotsis, Campaign Organizer - Follow Phil on Twitter (@PhiluptuousD) This Halloween and in weeks to come, polluters and their industry lobbyists are dressing up as “family farmers” attempting to scare up support to stop EPA from protecting clean water. The attire they've donned this season is the rhetoric of the American Farm Bureau and other huge industry front groups. They are saying things like “power grab” or a “regulatory overreach.” that aren't based in any sort of fact. Last time I checked Wikipedia, the definition of a power grab didn’t involve the modest goal to better protect America’s lifeblood, our Water! We know how ludicrous those accusations are. Recent scientific consensus has definitively proven that nearly all streams and wetlands are connected to larger water bodies that many of us drink from. EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy has also stated, “our proposal is all about protecting waters that science tells us have a significant impact to downstream water quality. No more, no less.” And, since loopholes in the Clean Water Act leave the streams feeding our larger water bodies vulnerable, 1 in 3 American’s drinking water is at risk. Unhealthy waters are a reality that people in our country struggle with every day and we need your help to fix that. Still, big agriculture, mining, and developers are holding their proverbial pitchfork this Halloween, sowing seeds of distrust, and disguising their anti-water advocacy within their multi-million dollar advertising and lobbying schemes. They want citizens who may be directly affected by water pollution to do their bidding for them in Washington. We can't let that happen, we need voices like yours to stand up for clean water. Senator Ben Cardin [D-MD] said about the EPA’s proposal to restore the Clean Water Act at our recent press conference in Maryland that, “it will not regulate ponds or storm drains as opponents would like you to believe, it doesn’t do that, [polluters] make this stuff up!” Your voice and support provide a balance to the scary money and odd, dressed up language that big money interests like the American Farm Bureau use to persuade people that the health of our interconnected streams and rivers are not important. Those streams and watersheds, however, are of the utmost importance so let's protect them together, so visit our website to learn more. TAKE ACTION HERE, because we can’t afford to allow huge industry lobbyists get away with falsely representing real farmers – real farmers who directly depend on clean water for their livelihoods. Oh and, FYI in case you’re curious, we enthusiastically support and work with groups like the National Farmers Union, who represent the concerns of real family farmers . Check them out! Have a safe and happy Halloween! WWW.PROTECTCLEANWATER.ORG