Over the past few months, Sierra Club members and supporters generated more than 130,000 actions to support the Environmental Protection Agency’s regulations of mercury, soot, and smog from big polluters which can lead to adverse health effects and even death. These actions range from generating letters expressing support of EPA standards to attending regional EPA hearings and collecting signatures for Sierra Club’s “White House Support EPA Petition.”
The EPA issued the Mercury and Air Toxics Rule to cut mercury and other toxic air pollutants from power plants. The EPA estimates that each year this standard will reduce mercury from power plants by 91 percent, prevent 12,200 trips to the hospital, and save 17,000 lives once it is implemented. The Mercury and Air Toxics Rule will extensively cut toxic air pollutants which are linked to cancer, heart disease, neurological damage, birth defects, asthma attacks, and even premature death.
(Photo: Sierra Club activists attend an EPA hearing in Georgia. Courtesy of Sean Suddes.)