Not surprisingly, actual experts on health are not happy, including Dr. Richard Musto, Calgary’s medical officer of health. However, the small but vocal group of wing-nuts who have been lobbying council to remove fluoride since it was introduced by plebiscite in 1989 apparently won over most of the morons in council this time around, mostly on the notion that it is immoral to force the entire population to be “medicated” with this “poison.”
One of the nice little ironies of all this for me, of course, is that we will still be getting fluoridated water after the city stops adding it to the supply. According to the City’s website, “Fluoride naturally occurs in the Bow and Elbow Rivers, in concentrations varying throughout the year, between 0.1 and 0.4 mg/L.” That’s less than the .7 mg/L the City’s water treatment plants have standardized at, but now I’m wondering if the anti-fluoride lobby will start demanding a massive and expensive de-fluoridating upgrade at the plants to protect us from levels that have been in the water since before people ever settled here.
It simply boggles my mind that lobby groups like this can force this kind of thing on the rest of us using a combination of misinformation, disinformation and unsubstantiated fear. And even worse, that our politicians will go along with it, even in the face of a whole mess of expert testimony that clearly demonstrates that the lobbists are wrong. I also have to say that I’m disappointed in our new mayor for staying far away from the whole debate and choosing not to provide some sober, rational leadership on this subject, which is kinda why we voted him into that position in the first place.
I’m already hearing whsipers that this change for Calgary will be used by other anti-fluoride protestors as proof of their cause, for why would a major metropoloitan area like Calgary drop water fluoridation unless it was the most horribly bad thing ever? It pains me to know that our council’s bad example will probably result in other bad decisions being made in the future. Such is the circle of life…
*Edwards: Why the big secret? People are smart. They can handle it.
Kay: A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it.
*[RIGHT]-- Men In Black[/RIGHT]
So, the Dentist’s Mafia has made it’s move. Interesting.
This is how it starts you know. No fluoride means more cavities, more cavities means more dentist bills, more dentist bills means rich and powerful dentists, and one day you’re getting dragged to see the Dental Don by two really big guys in blue scrubs cuz your dental insurance payments are behind. Mark my words.
How big a difference does fluoridation make to the people who brush their teeth daily anyway ? And to the people who don’t, their teeth coated with sweet crap ?
My favorite case of City Council ignorance came a few years ago when a city in California wanted to make Dihydrogen Monoxide illegal. A few years prior to that, an email was floating around stating how harmful this substance was: prolonged exposure could lead to death; was the leading component in acid rain; was a major byproduct of industrial processes; etc… Of course, dihydrogen monoxide is just water, but this shows how easy it is to deceive people even if everything you say is 100% true. The city in California was actually wanting to ban foam, but amongst the reasons for doing so was the use of dihydrogen monoxide during its manufacturing process.
Eh, at least Calgary doesn’t appear to have a pit bull ban, like some Canadian provinces. Breed bans are stupid fearmongering, and proven not to reduce the incidence if bites, but they’re a popular choice for lazy demagogue politicians.
Maybe that’s what they’ll work on next in Calgary.
I seriously do think that people in general are getting dumber. Stupid, careless people have kids left and right because they never stop to think of the consequences. Meanwhile intelligent, reasonable people often end up delaying childbearing or never have kids at all.
Plus most people are ignorant about science. Too many people in power benefit from people just blindly following so most people never are taught true critical thinking skills.
I have never been as disappointed in our city council as I am now. Making decisions on public health based on junk science and sensationalism is a terrible, dangerous precedent.
Our water is not fluoridated, hasn’t been for some time (ever?). As I understand it, it has everything to do with cost, and not so much to do with paranoia.
Well, you know what George Carlin said: You wouldn’t believe how stupid the average person is, but what’s worse is that half the people are even dumber than that!
Miss post #11? OK it’s kind of obscure, but the whole “dumb people make more dumb people and smart people make fewer smart people” meme was the beginning of Idiocracy.
