Two candidates for President have vowed to eliminate the EPA, and while I’m no political pundit and politics rarely has a place in our little world of boating, mariners need to be made aware of this. Why? Let me tell you a quick story: this week, my kids visited a friend who had two staff infections. He got them from swimming in a tributary of the Chesapeake. Last year, no-swimming warnings kept my kids from swimming at our own local beach, thanks to algae blooms and sewerage overflows into the bay. And three years ago, a good friend of mine had to go to the hospital to have a massive infection drained, then spent a month on heavy-duty antibiotics. The reason why? Yep, you guessed it!

God forbid we should be able to swim in the natural waters at our own doorsteps. And god forbid the government play a role in establishing regulations that prevent businesses and the public from tainting these same waters, eliminating that ability. Lord knows, the free economy has proved time and time again that it can’t be left to its own to protect the environment, and that without regulation, none of us will be swimming in the bays and rivers again any time soon. 

So, who are the candidates claiming they’ll kill the EPA? Newt Gingrich and Michelle Bachmann. This, despite an Opinion Research Center international poll showing that 67-percent of Americans want the EPA, and 63-percent want it to do MORE to prevent water pollution. What about congress? Plenty of your representatives are introducing bills to strip the EPA of this power or that, on a near-daily basis. In fact, there are far too many anti-EPA bills out there to list. Pay attention, folks – if you even hope to take a dip, enjoy water skiing, go fishing, or merely wade along the shoreline without becoming ill, consider these facts and do your research before you vote… for anyone. 

Eliminate the EPA, and this will be the new normal.