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Air pollution from power plants alone triggers over 35,000 asthma attacks and
causes over 1,900 premature deaths in Ohio each year, threatening both public
health and the environment. Incredibly, our clean air protections are under
attack by the Bush administration and their allies in Congress. The White
House's misnamed Clear Skies initiative allows companies to pollute the air at
levels far above current law. Here in Ohio, these changes translate into even
dirtier air and increased health risks.
Please take a moment to call Representative Sherrod Brown and urge him to oppose the Bush administration's Clear Skies initiative on air pollution. You can call Representative Brown at 202-225-3401, here's a sample message you can leave:
"Hi, my name is ______ and I live in _____, Ohio. I think air pollution is a big problem, and I want to ask Representative Brown to oppose Clear Skies, the Bush administration's air pollution plan, and to support enforcing the current law instead of weakening it."
Then, let us know you made the call by following the link below and filling out the form there.
http://www.pirg.org/alerts/route.asp?id=428&id4=OHFreep
BACKGROUND
Thirty years after passage of the Clean Air Act, 141 million Americans are still breathing air that can make them sick. Cars, trucks and industrial facilities all contribute to the nation's air problems, but power plants - especially those that burn coal to create electricity - are to blame for 25 percent of smog and 66 percent of sulfate soot pollution.
Ohio's power plants are some of the dirtiest in the country. Our state leads the country in acid-rain causing pollution; is number two for emissions of the global warming gas carbon dioxide; and is number three for mercury and nitrous oxide emissions. Since these plants were planned or built before the passage of the Clean Air Act in 1970, they are not required to follow the reduced emissions standards required of modern facilities.
The environmental and health impacts of air pollution are stunning. Across Ohio, pollution from coal-fired power plants alone triggers over 35,000 asthma attacks and 1,900 premature deaths every year. In addition to air quality problems, there is a fish consumption advisory out on every single waterway in Ohio because mercury from coal-fired power plants drifts from the air down into our lakes, rivers and streams.
Current law requires that power plants clean up. However, at the behest of powerful corporations, the Bush administration and their allies in Congress are preparing to slash these clean air safeguards.
The White House's air pollution initiative, called Clear Skies, will be a major roll back of the Clean Air Act if it passes. The misnamed Clear Skies initiative will allow 420 percent more mercury pollution, 125 percent more sulfur dioxide emissions and 68 percent more nitrous oxide emissions than current law allows. The initiative fails entirely to recognize or regulate carbon dioxide, which leads to global warming.
With asthma attacks and smog days on the rise and hazardous levels of mercury pollution in every body of water in Ohio, now is clearly not the time to allow higher levels of pollution.
We need champions in Congress to move us toward cleaner air. Our government should be protecting public health and the environment by cleaning up power plants. We are asking citizens, public health organizations and elected officials to tell the Congress to oppose this unprecedented weakening of clean air safeguards.
Sincerely,
Amy Simpson Ohio PIRG State Director AmyS@ohiopirg.org http://www.OhioPIRG.org
Please take a moment to call Representative Sherrod Brown and urge him to oppose the Bush administration's Clear Skies initiative on air pollution. You can call Representative Brown at 202-225-3401, here's a sample message you can leave:
"Hi, my name is ______ and I live in _____, Ohio. I think air pollution is a big problem, and I want to ask Representative Brown to oppose Clear Skies, the Bush administration's air pollution plan, and to support enforcing the current law instead of weakening it."
Then, let us know you made the call by following the link below and filling out the form there.
http://www.pirg.org/alerts/route.asp?id=428&id4=OHFreep
BACKGROUND
Thirty years after passage of the Clean Air Act, 141 million Americans are still breathing air that can make them sick. Cars, trucks and industrial facilities all contribute to the nation's air problems, but power plants - especially those that burn coal to create electricity - are to blame for 25 percent of smog and 66 percent of sulfate soot pollution.
Ohio's power plants are some of the dirtiest in the country. Our state leads the country in acid-rain causing pollution; is number two for emissions of the global warming gas carbon dioxide; and is number three for mercury and nitrous oxide emissions. Since these plants were planned or built before the passage of the Clean Air Act in 1970, they are not required to follow the reduced emissions standards required of modern facilities.
The environmental and health impacts of air pollution are stunning. Across Ohio, pollution from coal-fired power plants alone triggers over 35,000 asthma attacks and 1,900 premature deaths every year. In addition to air quality problems, there is a fish consumption advisory out on every single waterway in Ohio because mercury from coal-fired power plants drifts from the air down into our lakes, rivers and streams.
Current law requires that power plants clean up. However, at the behest of powerful corporations, the Bush administration and their allies in Congress are preparing to slash these clean air safeguards.
The White House's air pollution initiative, called Clear Skies, will be a major roll back of the Clean Air Act if it passes. The misnamed Clear Skies initiative will allow 420 percent more mercury pollution, 125 percent more sulfur dioxide emissions and 68 percent more nitrous oxide emissions than current law allows. The initiative fails entirely to recognize or regulate carbon dioxide, which leads to global warming.
With asthma attacks and smog days on the rise and hazardous levels of mercury pollution in every body of water in Ohio, now is clearly not the time to allow higher levels of pollution.
We need champions in Congress to move us toward cleaner air. Our government should be protecting public health and the environment by cleaning up power plants. We are asking citizens, public health organizations and elected officials to tell the Congress to oppose this unprecedented weakening of clean air safeguards.
Sincerely,
Amy Simpson Ohio PIRG State Director AmyS@ohiopirg.org http://www.OhioPIRG.org