Re: Natural background.

["John DeLaHunt" <jdelahunt@cc.colorado.edu>]

> I am absolutely appalled by the statement of the Congressman from West
> Virginia.  Clearly he (and his staff) need educating.  (By the way in
> testifying once before the Oregon legislature I had a similar experience,
> too lengthy to relate here, but which resulted in a recess by the
> Committee chair who spent the next 30-40 minutes with me getting educated
> over coffee.  She returned to the meeting room and adjourned the
> committee; the bill died a very quiet death in committee and never saw
> the light of day.)

I relate a (probably apocryphal) tale I heard third hand about the Illinois
state legislators who were discussing water quality.  Apparently, EPA had
established water pH with a range of 5.5-8 as being "good", and the
legislators said, "We can do better than that.  Let's make it 1."

Or something like that.  I just _love_ being a scientist in a world of laws
written by lawyers and regulated by regulators, with little or no
cross-training.  Were these people asleep in college, or just out partying?

John

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