In 1982, a lot was happening in America.
The Milwaukee Brewers were heading to the World Series, a hot new TV show called
Knight Rider premiered, and the first pop album -- by
the Bee Gees -- came out on compact disc. It was the year of the Commodore 64 and the year President Reagan promised that democracy would leave communism "on the ash-heap of history."
1982 was also the year the EPA wrote our current safeguards against coal plants dumping their toxic byproducts into our waters.
President Reagan was right about one thing: Some things belong in the past. Tell the EPA that it's time to update our water safeguards, and protect our communities against toxic coal wastewater!
Coal-fired power plants produce more toxic waste than any other industry in the United States, including the chemical, plastic, and paint manufacturing industries.
[1] They spew millions of pounds of pollutants into our waters every year,
and they'll keep at it as long as the Reagan-era rules go unchanged.
We've come a long way since 1982. We know a lot more about the toxins that coal plants dump into pits, ponds, lakes, and streams. We've also shown that grassroots voices like yours can have a huge impact when we all stand together and demand better protections for our families. Strong new protections against mercury and soot are proof that you can push the EPA to put our communities' health above big polluters' profits.
Our communities can't wait another 30 years to get this right. Tell the EPA that you want real protections against Big Coal's toxic wastewater!
Thanks for everything you do to protect the environment,
Mary Anne Hitt
Beyond Coal Campaign Director
P.S. Six comments are better than one! After you've taken action, please
forward a copy of this message to five of your friends and family. Or spread the word on your social networks with the share buttons below.
[1] Duhigg, Charles,
Cleansing the Air at the Expense of Waterways, New York Times, October 12, 2009
