A slob who makes a huge mess everywhere he goes is known as a pig. As a city, a state, and a nation, are we a pig when it comes to the air we breathe?
Consider this, from the Florida Sierra Club's "The Pelican"...
"Even today in 2006, over half of America's electricity is generated from coal-fired plants. Consequentially, we are being exposed to soot, smog, acid rain, and dangerous toxins such as mercury, which threaten people and wildlife alike. Bush's 'Clear Skies' plan will allow 520% more mercury pollution by 2010, not to mention delaying the enforcement of public health standards for smog and soot until the end of 2015." To get involved with the Sierra Club to work for cleaner air, visit www.sierraclub.org.
So it would seem the simple option would be to move to cleaner, non-coal ways of generating electricity. Well, that is not what Florida is doing. The Florida House Energy Committee recently a bill to promote coal-fired power plants. The bill gives tax breaks to “integrated gasification combined cycle” – or IGCC – coal plants. According to "The Pelican"...
"The IGCC plants still burn coal and release mercury and carbon. Since all Florida IGCC plants are still exempt from sequestration technology, the amount of mercury and carbon pollution cannot be tolerated."
Click here to follow state legislative bill activity or visit flsenate.gov or myfloridahouse.gov. To track Governor Charlie Crist's budget items and general communications, visit myflorida.com or flgov.com.
Friday, April 6, 2007
Pig sky country
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It would be interesting to ask John Edwards about Mercury emissions and what his positions would be regarding federal intervention:
Jacksonville Welcomes John Edwards
The DCDEC is reporting via the new Duval Demomcrats official blog that former V.P. candidate and current 2008 candidate for President John Edwards will be in town this coming Wednesday, April 11th at the FCCJ South Campus, in the Lake Room of the Wilson Center at 7:00 PM. Though I am an Al Gore supporter waiting to see if he can be drawn into this race, my second choice is the former NC Senator John Edwards. I couldn't be more thrilled at the prospect of seeing him in town. When Gore had whittled down his VP choices to two candidtates in 2000, the NC Senator was the other. What could have been.
The contrast between this visit and Sen. Barak Obama's visit last week is striking for two reasons. First, as he did last week here in Jacksonville, Sen. Obama still uses the tired old habit of expensive local fundraiser visits at the expense of working middle & lower class voters having an opportunity to see the candidate for themselves on a personal level. I'm sure Mr. Edwards has these same fundraisers, but last time when he was a POTUS candidate I did not notice one time on his political calendar where he did one at the expense of a local meet and greet for the general public. Secondly, though I'm a fan of Sen. Obama and see a lot of promise in him, I'm still waiting for him to take a stand on something.......anything. So far, I've watched Mr. Edwards lead the way in deciding not to participate in the Nevada FOXNews sponsored debate helping to delegitimize that network which is nothing more than a propaganda arm for the WH and the GOP. This is followed by his leading the way saying how wrong he was for his Iraq war authorization vote.
Watching Obama waffle recently on the supplemental funding bill and Hillary doing the triangulation dance on her Iraq war vote and abortion leaves me wanting in the current crop of candidates with the exception of Edwards. I'm delighted at the opportunity to see him again.
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