Mercury petition

[michael <michael@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Dear Professor Perelman,

My name is Ellen Montgomery and I work with Environment California and
the state PIRGs, the state Public Interest Research Groups
(www.pirg.org). We are a nation-wide network of state-based public
interest advocacy groups-you may be familiar with CALPIRG
(www.calpirg.org).

I am contacting you about a campaign we are working to reduce the amount
of mercury emitted by power plants.

Mercury is a dangerous toxic pollutant that causes learning
disabilities, developmental disorders and other health impacts,
especially in small children and developing fetuses. It has also
contaminated the fish is rivers and lakes across the country to the
point where health agencies warn us not to eat the fish. According to
the EPA, power plants, the biggest unregulated source of mercury
pollution, could reduce their emissions by 90% using technologies that
are currently available and in use. However, the Bush administration is
proposing to weaken enforcement of the Clean Air Act so that power
plants wouldn't have to clean up and could instead emit nearly seven
times more mercury over then next decade.

A 60-day public comment period on this issue just started, so we are
asking professors across the country to sign on to a letter urging the
Bush administration to require power plants to use the best pollution
controls and reduce emissions by 90%.

I am including a copy of the sign-on letter below. If you would like to
sign on, you can simply reply to this email and include your name,
title, and address and I will add your name to the national letter.

There is more information about the campaign at:
http://cleanairnow.org/cleanairnow.asp?id2=11185&id3=cleanairnow&;


--

Michael Perelman
Economics Department
California State University
michael at ecst.csuchico.edu
Chico, CA 95929
530-898-5321
fax 530-898-5901