Barton’s Horoscope: Mercury Rising
CLEAN Air - Fired up: TXU’s coal plan puts Texans’ health at risk:
Power plant mercury pollution puts our babies at risk for permanent brain damage. We need 90 percent mercury reductions from all sources in order to protect health. TCEQ’s weak mercury proposals would allow mercury to increase over the next four years. Eleven Texas fishing lakes and the Gulf of Mexico now have mercury fish consumption warnings. A recent study by the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio found a 17 percent increase in autism for every 1,000 pounds of mercury pollution.
TXU’s proposed Oak Grove coal plant – 125 miles from Dallas – would become the new “worst mercury-emitting power plant in the nation.” Is that the best TXU can do?
Lone Star Chapter, Sierra Club:
The proposed power plants will emit an estimated 6,000 of pounds of brain damaging mercury. For every 1,000 lbs of mercury in neighborhood there is a 17% increase in autism in nearby schools.
Guess how much the TXU’s pac has donated to Barton this year? $24,000.
Corsicana Daily Sun, Corsicana, Texas - Q&A with U.S. Congressman Joe Barton:
On new power plants: I think TXU has announced they are going to try and build, I believe, 10 new plants. The company has said it’s going to use technology that will have (far) less emissions than current technology. Some of the environmental groups have indicated they either don’t believe that, or don’t believe the technology will work. They are going through the hearing process and that will sort itself out. I support power plants being built. … I’m confident we can handle the emissions.
Therefore, we don’t need the NIH investigating environmental causes of Autism.
Toxic Mercury Pollution: Texas leads the nation in toxic power plant mercury pollution!
The Environmental Protection Agency states mercury is the third major pollutant produced by coal fired power plants.
Smith says TXU is only promising a 20-percent reduction in pollution while Texas environmental regulators say power plants need to cut smog forming emissions by 70 percent.
Smith suggests that TXU knows tougher regulations are just around the corner so they are trying to get the plants permitted now. Then they’ll have to be grandfathered in when the rules change.
Filed under: Austism, Coal Plants, Congress, David T. Harris, Fast-tract permit, Joe Barton, Rick Perry, TRCC, TXU, Texas district 6, campaign contributions, mercury, texas politics
[...] You will remember we blogged about this here and here . I am glad Don Imus is putting it on center stage. Joe Barton should not be sitting on this money. 2006 general election Autism Don Imus texas politics texas vote election dirty politics dishonesty Glenda Dawson Joe Barton John Carter Mary Beth Harrell mercury republican This entry is filed under politics, texas politics, republican, texas, dirty politics, vote, election, Joe Barton, Austism, mercury, dishonesty, 2006 general election, Glenda Dawson, John Carter, Mary Beth Harrell, Don Imus. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. Leave a Reply [...]
[...] In October we did two pieces about our very own Joe Barton sitting on the money for an autism study because he wanted his own pet projects funded first. From 1 in 15,000 to 1 in 160 in a little over a decade is certainly cause for alarm. We need to find the cause of such an increase and not worry about playing politics with who could be the cause. I don’t care how much money polluters and pharmacuetical companies contribute to politicians, this should transcend that. We need to start right in New Jersey. [...]