I can't wait to find out who will replace Christine Todd Whitman as head of EPA. Currently, Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne appears to be the leading contender. Of course it was denied today by the White House which means it's probably a done deal.

I don't know enough about him yet to be outraged but give me a little time. What caught my attention? Linda Fisher, currently Whitman's deputy and a possible candidate for her replacement, used to work for Monsanto. MONSANTO!!! You know, maker of Agent Orange, polluter of small towns in Alabama and elsewhere around the planet. I don't know what outrages me more - that the second in command at EPA came from one of the world's biggest corporate polluters -- or that I'm just discovering it today. My bad.

And it gets better. No, really it does. As she gets ready to exit June 27, environmental groups have questioned Whitman's possible intervention in last year's consent decree against Monsanto for "massive" PCB contanimation near Anniston, AL. Why doesn't Reuters mention that Whitman's deputy used to work for Monsanto? As Mrs. Puff would say, why, SpongeBob, WHY?

In the interest of full disclosure, I worked for a trade newsletter called HazMat News in 1994. In addition to learning more than one ever would want to know about RCRA and becoming familiar with Monsanto's legacy, I followed up on news about companies that poured hazardous waste along the gutter - neglecting to realize neighbor kids played nearby. The material melted kids' tennis shoes. Or the workers who died inhaling shit they shouldn't have been inhaling. Or the hundreds of other instances in this country and around the world where it was easier (and more cost effective) to play fast and loose with stuff that kills people. A lifetime of outrage isn't enough to convey my feelings about this issue. Ten lifetimes wouldn't be enough.