It\’s Getting Hot In Here

With all of the LARGE problems that exist in such a small city like Chester the last thing we need is to read about another LARGE problem. It is a daily problem that has been often overlooked by the city for decades. This persistent problem is the environmental injustice that plagues Chester residents, quietly robbing minutes, days, weeks and years from our lives with every passing moment as we breath. Some doctors would even argue that these pollutants also rob us of our ability to learn and reason. SO what specifically is the LARGE problem? The large problem is with what is being put into our drinking water here in Chester City, Media Township and Philadelphia PA.

So what’s so scary about our water? Chester water may taste better than Media Township’s and Philadelphia’s but there is one horrible thing that we have in common with their water. Once our spring water hits the treatment plant they all have a chemical called hydrofluosilicic acid (also known as Fluoride) dumped into it. This acid is accumulated during the making of fertilizer by the phosphate industry. This acid is also regulated as hazardous waste until it has been dumped into your drinking water. It is only considered toxic if dumped into the water by you or I but it is called “medicine” when dumped into the water by a “phosphate fertilizing” company. See, it is the fertilizing company that has been given the permit to poison you.

These businessmen justify poisoning you by arguing that Fluoride is good for your teeth. Well, dentists who oppose fluoridation would tell you that it is one thing to use fluoride on your teeth but another thing to ingest it. Having it pass through your blood stream and kidneys is a bad idea. And it is for this reason that a poison control label is placed on your fluoridated toothpaste. Just take a look on the back of it. The only reason a warning label is on your toothpaste is because of the Fluoride that is in it.

This debate has been going on for about fifty years now, so I don’t expect to bring some sudden enlightenment to the community through a single editorial on the subject of fluoridation. But here is something you need to think about. In November 2006, both the American Dental Association and the Center for Disease Control recommended that infants not be exposed to fluoridated drinking water because it has been linked to causing permanent damage to their teeth. Other health problems associated with fluoride includes the stunting of brain growth, learning disabilities, kidney failure and bone cancer. Yet the argument of the phosphate businessmen is that fluoride is “medication” for those who cannot afford dental care.

Well here are some questions to consider… if fluoride is medication for dental care why not just let toothpaste do the job? Doesn’t it already have fluoride in it? And also, the last time I checked, medication was a choice. I could either chose to be medicated or I could chose to go without medication. Dumping acid in my drinking water doesn’t give me much of a choice. And it doesn’t stop there, because medication has always been regulated when in the mainstream market so where is the warning label on my tap water? Since when does a company that is not licensed in pharmaceuticals been given the right to forcibly medicate American citizens? If our city wants to “medicate” us, why haven’t we been asked first? There seems to be a glaring violation of civil justice here.

A violation that has to do with choice over my health.

A violation that has to do with transparency and information.

We can easily remedy this by giving “the people” the opportunity to choose.

We can easily remedy this by allowing “the people” to hear both sides of the debate on fluoridation.

We can put this on a ballot and let the people decide if they want to ingest fluoride as a medical public service.

Throughout the nation, there has been an increasing concern about the lack of input that the general populace is afforded when dealing with the decisions of elite businessmen and politicians. Health Care Bills have become Sick Care Bills once tainted by the interest of politicians and elite businessmen. Clean Energy Bills have become Dirty Energy Bills once tainted by the interest of politicians and elite businessmen. Jobs for Americans have become jobs for other nations due to the interest of politicians and elite businessmen. When do residents stand up and say enough is enough… you will not force us to swallow your selfish goals anymore?! The question is…are we so sick of it all that we are incapable of standing up for ourselves? It appears to me that Chester’s desire to fight for itself is what needs medication. So if you have a cure for apathy, I want you to know that I’d drink a bottle of that medicine anytime.