Join the Sierra Club on Saturday, October 2nd as we rally in downtown Des Moines to educate Iowans about mercury pollution! We will have a short press conference at 11:00 am followed by a "walk backwards" to show how the Bush administration is taking us backwards when it comes to protecting public health and the environment from mercury pollution. Meet us outside the Wallace Building, at 502 E. 9th Street in Des Moines at 11 am, on October 2nd, and demand that both local and national leaders protect people, not polluters! Background: Despite the fact that Iowa ranks 16th in the nation for coal plant mercury pollution, it is one of only five states that has never issued a mercury advisory for locally caught fish, even for at-risk women and children. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources has avoided issuing advisories by using the FDA's outdated and unscientific advisory level, rather than the EPA's, even though only the EPA's guidance has been approved by the National Academy of Sciences as being protective of vulnerable populations. As a result, Iowans that should be limiting their fish consumption are being given no mercury guidance from the state, and have no idea that the levels of mercury being detected in some Iowa fish are high enough to pose a serious risk to the development of small children and growing fetuses. And the Bush administration is making matters worse. Last December, the administration was under a deadline to propose a plan to begin regulating mercury pollution from coal power plants, the single largest source. The EPA had planned to require a 90% reduction in emissions by 2008, but the Bush administration turned its back on current science and technology by proposing only 30% reductions by that time. This plan will also allow utilities to trade emissions credits, which could create mercury "hot spots" where some communities are at greater risk than others. Both aspects of the administration's plan - ignoring the best available technology and allowing pollution trading - violate the current Clean Air Act. We can do better! Join us in asking the Iowa DNR to protect Iowans from the Bush administration mercury plan, by issuing appropriate mercury advisories and by joining a growing list of states in opposition to this backwards proposal. When: Saturday, October 2nd at 11:00 am Where: Outside the Wallace Building, 502 E. 9th Street, Des Moines What: Mercury "walk backwards" in opposition to the Bush administration's backwards mercury plan Hope to see you there! Tarah Heinzen Sierra Club Conservation Organizer 3839 Merle Hay Road, Suite 280 Des Moines, IA 50310 (515) 251-3995 [log in to unmask] - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To get off the IOWA-TOPICS list, send any message to: [log in to unmask]