Have legislators lost it?

For years, the citizens of this country have made small and large efforts to improve the quality of our air, water and land. We recycle; control the emissions of our vehicles, factories and smokestacks; clean up litter; and protect our streams, rivers, lakes and oceans. The citizens’ efforts continue in earnest because we know that climate change is real and that we must all work diligently to decrease our contributions to climate change. It must be reversed, and we and all other citizens of the world must participate actively and aggressively to that end.

Who then has been presenting bills to the General Assembly that:

Waive the need for buffers to stop coal runoff and waste from contaminating the waterways, thus allowing coal producers to ignore their responsibility to protect streams and rivers?

Allow substantially heavier trucks to travel Kentucky roadways, further destroying our roads and increasing the noxious emissions into the air that we all must breathe?

Lift existing regulations requiring safety inspections of all coal mines, thus inviting more fatal accidents to occur, and allow storage of waste materials in inactive mines resulting in erosion and mud slides and further contaminating the land?

Have legislators lost their minds? Do they not recognize their responsibility to the people of Kentucky, of this country, of our world?

This story was originally published March 31, 2017 at 4:20 PM with the headline "Have legislators lost it?."