RE:Interesting The "dreadful lot" at the EPA are the ones who keep you from being poisoned by the water you drink and the air you breathe, so a little more respect is in order. Imagine working for an outfil in which pretty much every decision winds up contested in court. You would make damn sure that every "i" was dotted and every "t" crossed.
p.s. Before I became a Silicon Valley guy and worked for a few industry-leading companies, I managed to talk my way into the EPA, my first job out of school. I worked with a collection of the smartest people with whom I've ever shared an office, an extraordinary collection of Ivy and Stanford MBAs, Harvard and Princeton Public Policy school graduates, MIT PHDs, Rhodes Scholars, and at least one future MacArthur Fellow. I confess is was nearly 40 years ago, with some crappy leadership between then and now, but the ethic of following the laws as established by Congress, protecting the public health, and maintaining a livable planet have not changed.