As probably one of the few people to complete a Masters on the subject (Safety and Environmental Management - WVU '99) my views on the above subject remain somewhat opposed to my friend CarolC's views. From the day the Kobe Accords were signed by the first benighted government functionary Clinton could get to put his initials, "AG" on them, and later to almost universal Senate condemnation, we have had several rather focused discussions on water and other resource issues.

So instead of injecting a viewpoint that might actually be formally educated on the this subject, (what ever that might mean to those caught up in the passions of belief) might I suggest you folks refer to the EPA web site on local community water quality reports. They also contain links to local watershed conditions, and test reports, by state, region, county, municipality. Many of the original reports can be accessed through state or federal EPA sites. The blunt fact is that our water is as good, standard for standard, as any first tier nation, and given our tremendous political and cultural diversity, we use our resources pretty well. (And no, we won't bottle other countries water and ship it here; think transportation and shipping, materials handling, and the fact that it all eventually evaporates into the atmoshere for world wide redistribution... or we could all watch each other pee in a jar... oh).

They won't diminish the finely wrought hysteria over the issue (for example the fact that, if the entire North Pole completely melts, the water level in the world will DROP about 4-6 per cent - try this with a glass of tea and six or more ice cubes to fill it to the brim, then allow it to melt... oh. It's a different story with glaciers, but different dynamics too).

Anyhoo, try www.epa.gov/safewater/ccr1.html, enter your state, then your county from drop-down menus. Be sure and check your watersheds on the sidebars.

The laws that Nixon sought passage, then immediately signed (stunningly true), like the original EPA legislation, and its progeny, RICRA, FIFRA, and SARA II, are not perfect, but they still beat the living hell out of any other country in the world, given the level of our bio-socio-technical culture, our evolving knowledge of how those inter-relationships are driven by nationstate economics, and our national ability to counter-march off the dime, if our enlightened self-interest is made manifest. History is littered with nations, tribes, and cultures that failed to realize that imperative (even now, Vietnam begs for our trade). As the Arabs say, "Dogs bark, but the caravan moves on..."

(SOON TO BE SEEN AS THE ACRONYM "DBBTCMO".)

(Now somebody go wake up Carol... )