What's he got against water?
House members urge Bush to retain Clean Water Act protectionsIn the letter, 218 House members, including all but 14 of 205 Democrats, said Bush's preliminary rule-making efforts "represent attempts to remove federal protection from waters -- including many streams, wetlands, and natural ponds -- that have been covered by the Clean Water Act for decades."
EPA to relax mercury rule for industryThe Bush administration is about to loosen dramatically an upcoming regulation that would reduce mercury pollution from coal-fired power plants, according to federal documents obtained by environmental activist groups.
The Bush administration, under a Dec. 15 deadline, will regulate mercury -- a powerful neurotoxin that affects children and pregnant women -- for the first time ever, new Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Mike Leavitt told Knight Ridder Newspapers in an interview late Tuesday.
"We will be regulating mercury as a source from power plants," Leavitt said. "We want to be able to reduce it."
But those reductions would appear to be several times weaker than what the Clean Air Act would require, according to a speech two years ago by then-EPA chief Christie Whitman.
And in case you haven't heard, there's already too much mercury in the fish. A recent investigation in San Francisco, for example, found:
...three types of fish -- swordfish, tuna and Chilean sea bass -- contained enough mercury in one 6-ounce serving to easily exceed the amount a 120-pound person can safely ingest over a one-week period. And the fourth, halibut, exceeded that level in two 6-ounce servings.
Maybe there's a bigger picture that involves getting clean water from melted glaciers.
* Ray, 12/03/2003 05:56:38 PM
