Before starting my slow-motion move here, I had the impression Minnesota was doing a lot more on mercury pollution than Michigan. Both states have a huge crop of inland lakes plagued by mercury, whose primary source is now coal-fired power plants. OK, Minnesota is no environmental mecca after all, as the story from yesterday's St. Paul paper points out. But what the story really proves is that with a few exceptions, industry calls for "voluntary" solutions really translate to a recipe for delay and denial. If we could just internalize an environmental ethic in our corporate CEOs...
"A broad-based effort to cut mercury releases in Minnesota isn't doing nearly as well as promised, an analysis by the Izaak Walton League of America contended Thursday.
The environmental group said state industry hasn't lived up to a 1999 stance that emissions could be reduced voluntarily by 1,000 pounds by 2005. Instead, releases so far have been trimmed by no more than 182 pounds, according to Sarah Welch, co-author of the report and associate director of the league's Midwest office."
http://www.mepartnership.org/protectourwater/pow_whatsnew.asp?new_id=908
Posted by Dave at October 30, 2004 11:53 PM