This is good strategy. The other thing that drew my attention was the recent Register story about lead-paint exposure of Latino children. It's the same story for black children, and indeed any children living in old and deteriorating low-rent housing. This is an environmental justice issue, as well as an economic justice issue. You can't attract low-wage labor without low-rent housing, except somebody always has to pick up the rest of the tab, someday. Same with polllution. So, is there a way to develop a common strategy around issues that tie in the health and future of our children with the health of our environment and the health of our economy? --Bill Witt > Tarah, > > I think the Chapter should develop a FACT Sheet and educational > publication about the danger of mercury and the need in Iowa to track this > pollution. > > I will be happy to help with this development as a volunteer. > And I think I can raise the money to publish the material when it is > completed. > > At the Governor's Water Summit, the water expert mentioned mercury in one > sentence of her presentation saying, if I remember right, "we are > beginning to measure mercury levels in some waters." > > Let's take the mercury bull by the horns and be proactive. > > Chris Bedford > [log in to unmask] > 515-283-0777 > > -----Original Message----- > From: Tarah Heinzen [mailto:[log in to unmask]] > Sent: Thu 12/11/2003 5:33 PM > To: [log in to unmask] > Cc: > Subject: FW: Bush Administration Contradicts Itself about Mercury > > > > Iowa is one of only 6 states that doesn't have a program to educate the > public about the risks of eating mercury contaminated fish, and our > reliance > on coal means this will be a growing public health threat here and > elsewhere... > > tarah > > -----Original Message----- > From: [log in to unmask] [mailto:[log in to unmask]] > Sent: Wednesday, December 10, 2003 2:07 PM > To: [log in to unmask]; > [log in to unmask]; > [log in to unmask]; > [log in to unmask] > Subject: Bush Administration Contradicts Itself about Mercury > > > FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE > December 10, 2003 > > CONTACT: > Wendy Balazik, 202-675-2383 > > BUSH ADMINISTRATION CONTRADICTS ITSELF > While Dismantling Mercury Protections, Administration Cautions Women and > Children to Reduce Fish Consumption > > Washington, DC- The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the > Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today expanded health warnings > about > the toxic effects of eating mercury-tainted fish in a draft advisory set > to > be finalized early next year. This comes on the heels of the Bush > administration's recent sweeping changes that would make it easier for > polluters to avoid cleaning up mercury. > > Today's action by the FDA and EPA increased the number of fish species > with > unsafe levels of mercury and expanded the list of people who are most > hurt > by mercury, adding children, nursing mothers and women who may become > pregnant. > > "It is astonishing that while the Bush administration is warning people > about increased health threats from eating mercury-laden fish, it is > weakening the very clean air protections that would reduce mercury > pollution," said Carl Pope, Sierra Club's executive director. "Just > last > week, the Bush administration announced a plan to loosen protections for > mercury pollution in our air; and today, two federal agencies report > that > more fish than ever have dangerous levels of mercury. We call on the > Bush > administration to enforce clean air laws that are on the books and > require > power plants to install new technology to control this dangerous > pollutant." > > Mercury is a powerful toxin that causes learning and developmental > disabilities in children. Women of childbearing age and people who > regularly and frequently eat highly contaminated fish, or even large > amounts of moderately contaminated fish, are most likely to be at risk > from > mercury exposure. Children exposed in the womb or after birth, > subsistence > fisherman and certain Native American populations are at risk. > > Forty-four states have warned the public to limit consumption of fish > from > mercury-contaminated lakes and rivers. Mercury works its way up the > aquatic food chain and into the human body in a toxic form. The threat > is > especially great to the offspring of women who have high levels of > mercury > -- hence the advisories that urge women of child-bearing age and > children > reduce the consumption of some species of fish and avoid others > completely. > One of every dozen of U.S. women of childbearing age has mercury in > their > bodies at levels that could threaten their unborn children. > > Airborne deposits account for the bulk of mercury, which occurs > naturally > in coal and rises out of it as it burns. Regulation has been sought > under > the 1990 Clean Air Act, with a December 15 deadline set for rule-making. > The EPA seemed poised to order a 90 percent cutback in mercury emitted > from > coal-powered plants by 2008. Instead, the long-term goal will be a 70 > percent reduction by 2018, the EPA said last week. By one estimate, > that > means 300 more tons of mercury coming down with the rain over the next > 15 > years. The EPA's decision to back off of its more stringent pollution > control standards is an unacceptable concession to wealthy power > companies > that puts the public's health at risk, Pope said. > > # # # > > Wendy Balazik > Media Coordinator > Sierra Club > Phone: 202-675-2383 > Fax: 202-547-6009 > > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - > To get off the IOWA-TOPICS list, send any message to: > [log in to unmask] > > > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Make your voice heard! Find out how to get Take Action Alerts and other important Sierra Club messages by email at: http://www.sierraclub.org/email