The news that the Obama administration is on board with an international pact to significantly decrease mercury use is fantastic for those of us committed to switching from dirty coal power to clean, renewable energy sources.
This is a bold step for the U.S.—one that is a long-time coming for coal-fired power plants. Coal plants are one of the largest sources of man-made mercury pollution in the U.S.
Mercury pollution causes brain damage and other developmental problems in unborn children and infants, and it has been linked to a greater risk of coronary heart disease in men. A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study found that 8 percent of women had mercury blood levels exceeding the level deemed safe for unborn children by the Environmental Protection Agency. Our mercury regulations should be strict to protect public health and the environment.
Yet it was this quote from the Washington Post article on the international mercury treaty that stuck out to my colleagues and me: “Once the administration said it was reversing the course set by President George W. Bush, China, India and other nations also agreed to endorse the goal of a mandatory treaty.”
For too long we’ve heard the regulation nay-sayers use the excuse that whatever restrictions and regulations we introduce will only hurt the U.S. economically because China and India will not do the same. This mercury treaty shows the reality: If the U.S. acts first, then China and India will follow.
This bodes well for carbon legislation. The U.S. must act first on carbon regulation. China and India will follow our lead.
Another coal plant bites the dust
How industry pressures and competing national agendas dim prospects for a climate treaty
Comments
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ids Posted 11:08 am
26 Feb 2009
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Pompey Road Posted 12:05 pm
26 Feb 2009
Funny for centuries it was dirty and no big deal, it was coal. You called it what it was! Now corporate media introduce new terms and words into the language on a regular basis.
Outsourcing, legacy cost, clean coal. Dickens would not have been able to write in this era. Its hard to picture a street urchin without the coal black on his face. A chimney sweep has to wear white now and coal stoves don't bellow black smoke.
The eons of time and nature was good to us down here. It was not until we become civilized that destroying our habitat become fathomable or fashionable.
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amazingdrx Posted 10:07 pm
26 Feb 2009
So why do China and India want to follow? I think iot is similar to the way regulation works inside national boundaries. When regulation imposes the same basic environmental restrictions on all business operators, the honest businesses thrive. With no regulation or industry self regulation the worst polluters have a competitive advantage.
The truth is that the best businesses value the ecosystem around them. And so do the best nations. It becomes a competition to lead in clean green energy use and manufacturing. Let the games begin, with real regulation and real fair free trade. And worker safety health and pay issues as important as profit.
http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog John Schneider, Northern Wisconsin
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