The mercury hearing in Philadelphia will be on Wednesday, February 25th. Apologies for any confusion.
The following article is especially illuminating re the EPA under the Bush regime:
http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20040308&s=kennedy
The Junk Science of George W. Bush
by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
In a message dated 2/19/2004 1:34:00 PM Eastern Standard Time, BGAndersen writes:
Subj: Opportunity for Philadelphia-area members Date: 2/19/2004 1:05:11 PM Eastern Standard Time From: "Peter Schurman, MoveOn.org" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Bruce Andersen" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Dear MoveOn member,
The Environmental Protection Agency has just proposed weakening our safeguards against mercury pollution from coal-fired power plants. This is alarming -- mercury is extremely toxic to children. The EPA itself reports that 630,000 infants are born annually who are at risk for learning disabilities.
Instead of protecting mothers and children from mercury poisoning, the Bush administration has chosen once again to do a favor for its friends in the energy industry. The EPA proposal is so weak that the industry will be allowed to continue polluting without using state-of-the-art mercury controls.
Next week, the EPA is holding a public hearing on this issue in Philadelphia. We need to show up in person at this forum to remind the EPA that their job is to protect our children from pollution, rather than protecting President Bush’s campaign contributors. The hearing will be held next WEDNESDAY, February 25 from 8 AM to 10 PM.
Can you help? The event will be held at :
Wyndham Philadelphia at Franklin Plaza 17th and Race Streets, Philadelphia
Please arrive at 8 AM if possible; stay as late as you like.
EPA will listen to comments or questions from any member of the public, so feel free to step up to the microphone and make yourself heard. We’ve provided some more background information on the issue below.
Showing up at the hearing next week - even if it’s just for a few minutes - will make a big difference. The EPA needs to see first-hand that this issue is important to all of us.
Let us know if you're planning to attend the hearing by clicking this link below:
http://www.moveon.org/merc/pa.html?id=2369-3170608-Yzhm5335wZVCggzQTNR3uA
You and other MoveOn members are showing that individuals really can have an impact on the political process. Thanks for your commitment.
Sincerely, --Adam, Carrie, Eli, James, Joan, Laura, Noah, Peter, Wes, and Zack The MoveOn.org Team February 19th, 2004
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The Causes and Dangers of Mercury Pollution
Mercury is a toxic metal that can cause severe neurological and developmental problems in unborn fetuses and young children.
Smokestacks spew mercury pollution into the air, where it rains and snows down into our waterways, accumulating in fish. People eating contaminated fish are then exposed to mercury.
The EPA and forty-three states have now issued advisories warning people, especially women and children, to avoid or limit eating local fish because of mercury. This table shows the advisories that are in effect where you live.
http://www.moveon.org/mercury/table.pdf
Even with these warnings, the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention estimate that 1 out of 12 U.S. women of childbearing age have unsafe levels of mercury in their blood due to fish consumption.
The best way to protect women and children from mercury is to eliminate it from its largest source: power plants. But the electric and coal industries are pressing hard to avoid limiting their mercury emissions, and the Bush Administration has now proposed to weaken those standards.
The Bush Administration Weakens Mercury Pollution Standards
In December, EPA announced a mercury plan that will expose our children to far more mercury, for far longer, than what the agency has said is achievable and cost-effective. The proposal also is less stringent than was recommended by the majority of EPA’s own panel of experts who spent more than two years working on this problem.
It is appropriate and necessary to regulate mercury emissions from power plants
EPA now proposes to regulate mercury from utility companies as if it were a non-hazardous pollutant, demanding only a 30 percent emission reduction and allowing some sources to avoid controls entirely by buying pollution "credits."
When plants are not forced to curb pollution but can buy pollution credits, it increases the chances that there will be communities where mercury pollution is more prevalent.
The proposal also would give polluters at least 15 years to make the reductions rather than the three years required by law.
The Bottom Line:
The Bush administration must protect children’s health by reducing power plant mercury emissions by 90 percent by 2008 and ensuring that these reductions occur at each and every power plant. The Clean Air Act requires these reductions.
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