Coal pollution

"Landep News"

Coal pollution

The Environmental Protection Agency has in mind the best interest of the environment, but apparently the coal companies in North Dakota are opposing to the agency’s rules meant to reduce coal pollution.

This reaction doesn’t come as a surprise for the authorities, because in 1990, when a revision of the Clean Air Act was made, the coal companies in North Dakota did everything they could to convince the authorities to not require the old coal plants situated in North Dakota to comply with the new rule. As a result, nowadays, the Coyote, the Leland Olds and Milton R. Young plants hold the record for being the most polluting power plants in America. Therefore, EPA considers it’s time for sever measures. After 30 years of negligence it’s time for these plants to be cleaned up.

The lack of cleaning up has had a powerful negative impact. It’s known that coal burning is a source of mercury contamination and a factor that contributes to global warming and the increase of air toxins and causes acids rains, smog and not only. The mercury contamination is a real problem because one in 12 women (with ages around the childbearing age) and in some regions even one in 6 women has a blood mercury level that could affect the health of a baby.

Although politicians and the people in the coal industry consider that the 2006 movie signed by Al Gore and called “An Inconvenient Truth” is too alarming, the negative impact of global warming can not be denied. More recent surveys, confirm that almost 98% of the planet’s climate scientists agree that global warming is a concerning reality and is mainly the result of coal burning. Why not do something about this coal plants rather than having to face extreme weather that causes destructive floods and tornados, droughts that affect food resources and other disasters with an increased frequency of occurrence.

Every region affected by pollution and global warming has different symptoms, but the overall picture tells the same story. In North Dakota some explain the weather as being a wet cycle, but the experts are more inclined to support the idea that the climate changes are permanent.

Although the future is covered in uncertainty, most scenarios foresee a grim future if nothing will be done to reduce the level of pollution. Why not start with the coal plants in North Dakota? I’m sure many of you agree that a clean up will be a step forward towards better predictions.

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