Protect our kids from mercury
When a bridge falls or a stage collapses and harms innocent people, we get upset, and rightly so. These dangers are easy to see, and we want solutions. Yet every day invisible mercury and other toxic air pollutants fall from the Indiana sky and damage the brains of our infants and children, and it doesn’t get much attention because we can’t “see” it.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently finalized rules restricting mercury and air toxics from power plants. Until now, there have been no federal controls requiring power plants to limit their emissions of mercury, arsenic and metals.
It’s time to open our eyes to the dangers of mercury. Hair samples taken by the Sierra Club in Indianapolis in April 2011 revealed that all people sampled had some amount of toxic mercury in their bodies. These test results came from adults, but the real danger is to infants still in the womb. When babies are exposed to high concentrations of mercury in the womb, their brains may develop abnormally, impairing learning abilities and reducing IQ.
As many as one in 10 U.S. women of childbearing age have mercury levels high enough to put their developing children at risk, according to a U.S. EPA study.
Indiana ranks fourth in the nation in mercury emitted from coal-fired plants, the biggest source of mercury in our state. Mercury and other toxic air pollutants emitted from these plants fall from the sky in the air we breathe, ending up in our lakes and streams and contaminating fish.
The state tells pregnant women and children to limit fish consumption to once a week or less, but what if that is the only protein they can afford to put on the table? Shouldn’t fish caught in Indiana waters be safe to eat?
The best thing we can do to protect our children from mercury is to find cleaner sources of energy. We applaud the new U.S. EPA standards that will cut 90 percent of the mercury from coal plants and cut other toxic emissions. Retiring or cleaning up older coal-fired power plants, switching to cleaner energy sources and conserving electricity will reduce mercury emissions in Indiana. As seen in neighboring states, mercury can be reduced significantly without threatening our electricity supply and reliability, if we have the will to do it.
— Jodi Perras,
Executive Director
Improving Kids’
Environment, Indianapolis
— Jesse Kharbanda,
Executive Director
Hoosier Environmental Council, Indianapolis
— David Maidenberg,
Executive Director
Sierra Club Hoosier Chapter
— Chrystal Ratcliffe,
President, Indianapolis NAACP
— John Blair, President,
Valley Watch, Evansville
— Richard Hill, President, Save the Valley, Madison
— Jim Sweeney, President, Porter County Chapter, Izaak Walton League of America
Older drivers have safety opportunity
One of the significant demographic facts affecting America at the present and in the future is the aging of its population. The proportion and number of persons age 50 and older has grown and will continue to grow more rapidly than other age groups.
Independence and mobility are two important aspects of one’s life. Each becomes more important as a person ages. The AARP Driver Safety Program was created to help older drivers enhance both.
Older drivers benefit from the program through increased confidence on the road, a better driving record, the potential for lower insurance rates and a mobile, independent lifestyle for additional years.
AARP is currently seeking potential organizations to host an AARP Drivers Safety class in your area, and also interested participants. Hosting organizations find that helping to provide an AARP Driver Safety Program course enhances their public image as a service-minded community leader and creates community goodwill.
AARP is a non-profit organization and the Driver Safety Program is managed and presented by all volunteers. Those interested should call (812) 605-0731.
— Bill Morgan
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