Guest guest Posted April 30, 2006 Report Share Posted April 30, 2006 This is my state rep. I had emailed him about Gavin and he never forgot what I wrote and can pretty much quote my email about all the mercury/autism facts I sent him. He's awesome. Very environmentally focused. , just so you are aware; the DEP under Governor Rendell and Sect McGinty is trying to enact regulations that will place stricter Mercury emission standards than the federal govt. would allow. The Federal govts. do not adequately protect our children. There has been legislation introduced in HB 2610. I think that everyone that is concerned about reducing the amount of Mercury in our environment should get involved and contact their state elected officials. The special interests will rule the day if people don’t speak up and it will be to the detriment of our children. I have attached some info for you below and a word document to help educate you on the issue. Dan April 19, 2006 Dear Representative Surra, You received communication today from Representative Tigue mentioning information that you received from PennFuture. This new communication asserted that information PennFuture sent you about mercury pollution is false. All of our information is backed up by the latest scientific data and reports available on the subject and we'd be happy to share this information with you. Specific responses to today’s assertions include: Representative Tigue’s Assertion The Facts on Mercury Pollution The legislation would reduce mercury emissions in Pennsylvania by 86 percent, one the most significant reductions of any state, even when the impacts of a cap and trade incentive system are included. This is absolutely false. Pennsylvania power plants will not achieve an 86 percent reduction in mercury emissions unless each and every facility installs pollution controls instead of buying allowances. In testimony before the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, Doug Biden of the Electric Generators' Association admitted that many plants will buy allowances instead of cleaning up. A system that caps mercury emissions and authorizes power plants to sell excess emission reduction credits to other plants provides an incentive to over-control mercury emissions. Right now Pennsylvania power plants are the nation's largest buyers of pollution credits. A system of cap and trade for mercury emissions ensures that many areas of Pennsylvania will see little or no clean up of their mercury pollution. U.S. power plants represent just one percent of global mercury emissions. Emissions from Pennsylvania power plants represent about .09 percent of global emissions—nine hundredths of one percent. Pennsylvania power plants emit 7.5 percent of the United States' total mercury emissions and 83 percent of the state's mercury emissions. Mercury is a global problem, but most of Pennsylvania's mercury pollution originates from Pennsylvania plants. Please remember that even very small amounts of mercury are very dangerous. PennFuture is alleging that our legislation would create opportunities for local mercury contamination around power plants. There is no basis in fact for this allegation. Studies done by the Brookhaven National Laboratory state that there is no evidence of mercury “hotspots” now in Pennsylvania or adverse health effects from any alleged “hotspot.” Our mercury reduction legislation will certainly not create any “hotspots”. Local hotspots already exist and are likely to get worse. The latest study using state of the art sampling and modeling techniques shows that 70 percent of mercury emissions deposited around Steubenville, Ohio originated from local and regional sources. In a briefing for an EPA official, the study researchers called the findings, "scientifically and politically significant." Reducing mercury emissions from local sources results in big reductions in mercury contamination in nearby fish and wildlife. Waste incinerators in Florida were required to reduce their emissions of mercury by more than 90 percent. Subsequently mercury contamination in fish and other wildlife in the Everglades went down by 60 percent. This same phenomenon has been demonstrated in other studies. HB2610 supported (sic) by a coalition of business and labor groups, including the Pennsylvania coal industry and its workforce: United Mine Workers of America International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Pennsylvania Coal Association Electric Power Generation Association Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry Pennsylvania Chemical Industry Council Associated Petroleum Industries of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Manufacturers Association More than sixty public health, religious, women's rights, sportsmen's, health-affected, children's advocate, environmental and conservation organizations support a strong mercury rule: Public Health Organizations § Center for Healthy Environments and Communities, Pittsburgh § Maternity Care Coalition, Philadelphia § National Women's Health Network § Pennsylvania Public Health Association, burg § Pennsylvania State Nurses Association, burg § Planned Parenthood Pennsylvania Advocates, burg § Physicians for Social Responsibility, Philadelphia Chapter § Physicians for Social Responsibility, burg-Hershey Chapter § Sciencecorps.org, Lexington, Massachusetts § Women's Health & Environmental Network (WHEN), Philadelphia Health Affected Groups § The Healthy Children Project of The Learning Disabilities Association of America § Liberty Resources, Inc. Sporting Organizations § Pennsylvania Federation of Sportsmen's Clubs § Pennsylvania Trout § Susquehanna Smallmouth Bass Alliance, burg Faith-Based Organizations § Center for the Celebration of Creation, Philadelphia § Commission for Justice, Sisters of St. ph, Philadelphia § National Council of Jewish Women, Pittsburgh § Penn Central Conference, United Church of Christ, burg § Pennsylvania Council of Churches § Pennsylvania Interfaith Climate Change Campaign § Merton Center, Pittsburgh Women’s Rights Organizations § National Abortion Rights Action League Pennsylvania § Pennsylvania National Organization for Women (NOW) § Women's Law Project, Philadelphia § WomenVote PA § Women’s Way, Philadelphia Children's Advocates § Pennsylvania PTA Pennsylvania Environmental and Conservation Organizations § Action Committee to Improve the Environment of Beaver County § Alliance for a Sustainable Future, Ambler § The Alliance for Sustainable Communities-Lehigh Valley § American Rivers, burg § Citizens for Pennsylvania's Future (PennFuture) § Citizen Power, Pittsburgh § Clean Air Council, Philadelphia § Clean Water Action, Philadelphia § Conemaugh Valley Conservancy, Stahlstown § Conservation Consultants, Inc., Pittsburgh § Erie County Environmental Coalition § Friends of the Riverfront, Pittsburgh § Gaia Defense League, Erie § Green Valleys Association, Pottstown § GroundZero Action Network, Pittsburgh § Group Against Smog and Pollution (GASP), Pittsburgh § Jefferson Action Group, Jefferson Hills § Kiski-Conemaugh River Basin Alliance, Stahlstown § Kiskiminetas Watershed Association, Apollo § Lake Erie Regional Conservancy, Erie § Merrill W. Linn Land & Waterways Conservancy, burg § Mountain Watershed Association, Melcroft § PennEnvironment, Philadelphia § Pennsylvania Audubon, burg § Pennsylvania League of Conservation Voters, burg § Pennsylvania Wildlands Recovery Project, State College § Republicans for Environmental Protection, Pennsylvania Chapter § Roaring Run Watershed Association, Apollo § Sierra Club Pennsylvania Chapter, burg § Sustainable Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh) § Todd Bird Club, Stahlstown § Ten Mile Creek Watershed Conservancy, sville § Tri-State Citizens Mining Network, Washington § Western Pennsylvania Watershed Program, andria § Youghiogheny Riverkeeper, Melcroft National Environmental and Conservation Organizations § Greenpeace, Washington, DC § National Wildlife Federation, Washington, DC Please don’t hesitate to contact me for more clarification or information. Sincerely, Jan Jarrett, Vice President Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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