The use of "impact" as a verb

As of today I think that this will join my list of "usage errors that really get my goat." Already on the list:

1. Improper use of the subjunctive mood. I.e., "if I was a rich man" rather than the correct "if I were a rich man."

2. Apostrophe used to pluralize a noun. ("Melon's for sale"). I think that this is really a Southern thing, as I have never seen it above the Rude-Stupid Line*. Similar to this is the inappropriate use of quotation marks, often to add emphasis. For example, a sign seen at my local grocery store in Tennessee once: "FRESH" fish.

Turning back to impact: The use of this word as a verb, as in "power plant pollution disproportionately impacts West Virginians," is a crucial component of advocacy-speak, and you will see it a lot in fact sheets and reports. However, something about this use jars my internal grammatical compass. Let's see what the American Heritage Dictionary has to say. . .

Rats. It is a verb in that type of context. What good is this internal compass anyway? But wait...usage problem, notes American Heritage.

"The use of impact as a verb meaning 'to have an effect' often has a big impact on readers." Hee hee, dictionary-writer humor.

"Eighty-four percent of the Usage Panel disapproves of the construction to impact on. . .; fully 95 percent disapproves of the use of impact as a transitive verb in the sentence Companies have used disposable techniques that have a potential for impacting our health. It is unclear why this usage provokes such a strong response. . .it may be that its frequent appearance in the jargon-riddled remarks of politicians, military officials, and financial analysts continues to make people suspicious."

As well they should be.

*Rude-Stupid Line: More commonly known as "Mason-Dixon Line." Everybody below it thinks everybody above it is rude, and everybody above it thinks everybody below it is stupid.