Coal Fired Irony

<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">In 2005, I became interested in addressing the issue of mercury contamination of ground water and soil.  This environmental pollution leads to methylmercury in fish, and this can be harmful to humans.</span></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I wrote a lot about it then and since.  I believe I shared my Good Fish Bad Fish powerpoint with blog readers at some point.  As part of completing my "project," I attended an EPA meeting in the NC state capital, Raleigh. It was actually an open forum or hearing on rules for coal fired power plants.  Most of the mercury that is contaminating our environment is from this source.  There are other forms of energy that are clean or cleaner, AND there are ways to make coal fired power plants themselves cleaner.  I do not recall everything, but something about scrubbers -</span></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">There is also cap and trade policy and our clean air acts.</span></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">As you are aware,  legislation is often challenged and companies find work arounds. </span></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">When I was actively engaged in my Master's program and the study of this issue, I emailed my senators and congressperson.  They replied with reasons why they were NOT going to push for the regulations to be enforced.</span></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Imagine my "hhhmmph" moment when I recently heard on the radio that a few counties in NC were having meetings to determine how they would use their settlement money  from the Tennessee Valley Authority.  TVAs mercury emissions from coal fired power plants had led to local contamination.  </span></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">No more really need be said.</span></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">By the way, I also made a pamphlet those many years ago and I uploaded it to G<a href="https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B1pUruYXPyXJYTU0ZTM4NGItYzgwMC00NzJkLWJkNWItNThmNjBhNjdkNzc0" target="_blank">oogle Doc</a>s in case you want to take a look.</span></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </span></span>

Coal Fired Irony

In 2005, I became interested in addressing the issue of mercury contamination of ground water and soil.  This environmental pollution leads ...

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