Baby, Baby, oh Baby

Baby, Baby, oh Baby

Image: Bringley’s Harbor Resort

mom

Studies of 845 Minnesota lakes showed that Hg in walleye and northern pike increased by 1.8%/year from 1992-2006

“I've long wondered why fishermen / women do not get more upset over coal burning, which is the major source of mercury contaminating US freshwater fish. So far, talk radio jocks and ads for Clean Coal have been more masterful at risk communication than scientists.”

Baby, Baby, oh Baby

2 February 2012

Samples collected from 1,465 babies along the Lake Superior shore of Minnesota and Ontario revealed that 8%, almost 1 in 10, has blood Hg levels exceeding the U.S. EPA standard, some 1000 times higher.

Baby, Baby, oh Baby

16 December 2011

40% of coal-fired power plant units do not used advanced pollution controls.

In 1990, President George H.W. Bush signed a revision of the Clean Air Act calling for new power plant emission standards for mercury, dioxin and other air toxics.

20 years later, the U.S. EPA put into place these rules, potentially preventing up to 11,000 premature deaths, 17,000 heart attacks and 130,000 asthma attacks, saving up to $90B in health care costs at an annual cost of $9.6B.

Baby, Baby, oh Baby

Industry and opposition spokespersons claim that the law will -

• shut down 60% of the coal-fired power plants

• rolling blackouts

• massive layoffs in the energy sector

Presidential hopeful Rick Santorum charged that the new rules reflect EPA’s philosophy of: "We hate carbon, we hate fossil fuels, we hate blue-collar Americans who work in those areas.”

oh Baby