One of the big targets of anti-war protestors during the Vietnam War was Dow Chemical, manufacturer of napalm and Agent Orange. Agent Orange, or dioxin, was a “defoliant” that killed all the plants it touched. It was used in Vietnam in far greater concentrations than in American agriculture, and it was sprayed over a large area of the country--according to a New York Times article today--an area roughly the size of New Jersey.
Frequently American troops were in the spray zone. After years of agitation, the U.S. government finally recognized that American troops who were exposed to Agent Orange suffered various disabilities. Now the U.S. has agreed to help Vietnam clean up the area around Da Nang. The American ambassador said in a ceremony with Vietnamese officials, “We’re cleaning up this mess.” You can read the article at <http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/10/world/asia/us-moves-to-address-agent-orange-contamination-in-vietnam.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper>.
Dow Chemical, meanwhile, said that a “...very substantial body of human evidence on Agent Orange establishes that veterans’ illnesses are not caused by Agent Orange.”
It is funny that people "fear" or "hate" our govt. I wish people would hold corporations, especially huge, multinational corporations, to the same regard. It is corporations which get huge tax breaks, pollute, and crash our economy. I fear corporations a lot more than my govt. At least with govt, I can vote the people I don't like out.
ReplyDelete