Moveon site needs U to click on petition to EPA to not delay Mercury Regs

[papau]

http://www.moveon.org/mercury/

Bush defers Mercury regs for 10 years so as to harm 630,000 kids per year


Moveon has sent out info on the latest Bush corporate ass-kiss, where under energy industry pressure, Bush's EPA plans to defer controls on mercury emissions by power plants for at least a decade. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that 4.9 million women of childbearing age in the U.S. -- that's 8 percent -- have unsafe levels of mercury in their blood. The people hit hardest will be new-born infants -- every year over 630,000 infants are born with levels of mercury in their blood so high they can cause brain damage.

Bush is only allowing a few weeks to get public comments to the EPA on this plan to defer mercury controls.

If you feel it is time to tell the EPA and the White House that our kids come first, you can submit your comment by clicking this link:

http://www.moveon.org/mercury/

From a public health standpoint, the EPA's new policy is a disaster. But for Bush's energy industry allies, who are responsible for most mercury pollution, it's yet another bonanza. Increased pollution levels will allow these companies to save millions, while their top managers keep writing big campaign checks to support George W. Bush -- it's a pretty sick cycle.

On January 30th, the EPA announced its intention to weaken its own earlier proposal that would have required a 90 percent reduction in mercury pollution by power plants by 2008. The new proposal doesn't force every power plant to limit mercury pollution, leaving many communities vulnerable. It would also delay implementation of even these weaker requirements until 2018, leaving a whole new generation of kids needlessly at risk.

The first responsibility of the Bush administration and the EPA is to protect our nation's most vulnerable citizens. Time and again, we've seen the Bush administration try to weaken environmental protections, starting with its proposal to roll back stricter limits on arsenic in our drinking water. We must boost the visibility of the mercury issue so that, as with arsenic, the Bush administration is shamed into adopting a more rigorous standard.

Please join our effort to protect our environment and our children from the debilitating effects of mercury poisoning. Your comments will bolster the efforts of MoveOn members and other concerned people who are showing up today at public hearings on this issue in Chicago, Philadelphia and Raleigh.

Tell the Bush administration to protect children's health by reducing power plant mercury emissions by 90 percent by 2008 and ensuring that these reductions occur at each and every power plant, by clicking here:

http://www.moveon.org/mercury/

[NC_Nurse]

1. This morning I went to the EPA's

public hearing on this proposal. I spoke to the panel about my concerns because I have a brother who is autistic and a son with an Autistic spectrum disorder called Asperger's syndrome.
Mercury poisoning in children mimics the symptoms of Autism very closely and has led to the investigation of the inclusion of Thimerisol, a form of mercury, which is in vaccinations given to infants and children. It is believed that the reason that some children who are exposed to thimerisol are more vulnerable to it's toxic effects due to their genetic makeup.
Knowing the possible connection between mercury and Autism, and the toxicity of mercury in general, I felt compelled to speak out and put a human face on the toll these disorders take on children and their families.
Mercury from pwower plants (the largest source) is rained/snowed into our waterways and ends up in fish that are consumed by women of childbearing age and small children. The study that MoveOn quoted states that 1 in 12 women of childbearing age have levels of mercury that are too high.
I ate a lot of fish when I was pregnant. I was told it was healthy. I never considered not getting my son vaccinated, until his symptoms started to be revealed.
It breaks my heart to think it's more important to save power companies money than to protect our children. I am very sad today.

[bif]

2. Did it and passed it along to a bunch of folks

Thanks for the heads up!

[NC_Nurse]

3. Good for you!

I hope more people do it!:)