Today, just 2 months after EPA announced plans to limit mercury and other air toxics from power plants, Senator James Inhofe announced his plans to force a vote killing the long-delayed rule. According to him, this rule is a move by President Obama to wage war on affordable energy. He also claims that this rule, which protects families and communities, will lead to power grid instability. Utilities have already addressed this issue and confirmed that there would not be reduced grid stability.
What Senator Inhofe (who is ironically the top republican on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee) doesn't say is that mercury is a neurotoxin, highly dangerous for developing babies when consumed by pregnant women through certain fish and seafood. Seafood, with its Omega 3s would seemingly be a healthy food option for growing a baby right? Not if we don't get mercury emissions under control. Without this regulation, power plants do not have a limit on how much mercury they can emit into the air and ultimately into water, contaminating fish supplies and harming our families.
Why is it so important to limit mercury emissions? I'm so glad you asked. According to this report by NIH, it was found by the CDC that almost half a million children have cord blood mercury levels at those associated with loss of IQ. This loss of IQ then leads to diminished economic productivity over the life of that individual. This is serious as this loss in productivity amounts to over $1 billion per year. So, not only is this rule vital for the protection of the environment, it is imperative for the economic stability of our country. If we really want a long term boost to the economy, we might want to re-evaluate our priorities.
Take action to ensure that our families and communities can breathe clean air!
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