Congress is set to vote on the American Clean Energy and Security Act on Friday, a new climate bill that, tragically, doesn’t have the teeth to save us from climate change, according to the Center for Biological Diversity.

First, the bill’s greenhouse gas reductions targets are insufficient to stabilize atmospheric CO2 at 350 ppm, the goal scientists say we need to reach to avoid runaway global warming. Its emissions-lowering targets will give us more than a 50/50 chance of hitting the catastrophic tipping point at which climate change will spiral out of control, with ripple effects like the extinction of polar bears and numerous other species, loss of crop yields, and dangerous water scarcity for billions of people.

Second, the bill would senselessly discard some of our best weapons for fighting climate change under the Clean Air Act, eliminating the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to control emissions from sources like power plants, oil refineries, and industrial plants; letting wealthy industries continue spewing too much CO2 into the air; and allowing the construction of numerous coal-fired power plants without any additional emissions-reductions targets for more than a decade into the future.

The non-profit group urges citizens concerned about the climate and the environment to take action immediately by urging their Congressional Representatives to strengthen the American Clean Energy and Security Act.

Learn about the lobbying frenzy surrounding it in the New York Times.

Jefferson, Tuscaloosa counties make EPA top 20 list for airborne cancer risk

An Environmental Protection Agency report released this week adds to the mounting evidence about the risk of increased risk of cancer from air pollution in Alabama.

The report utilized the most current national data available (2002 toxic emissions data) to assess risk levels for cancer caused by airborne pollutants and found that Tuscaloosa and Jefferson counties were in the top 20 of all the counties in the United States for highest risk levels.

This study marks the fifth of its kind in seven months detailing the unsafe levels of cancer-causing toxics concentrated in Alabama communities.

In December, the Conservation Alabama Foundation released a study that found Alabama residents to be at a much higher risk of exposure to 13 carcinogenic air toxics, as compared to limits set by the EPA.

The modeling data in the EPA report underscores the continuing need for more stringent controls on toxic emissions. The Foundation is discussing such controls with the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM).

“We are hopeful that ADEM will have a proposal to reduce toxic emissions by the end of the year,” said Adam Snyder, executive director of the foundation. “However, if ADEM won’t take the lead on this issue, we will ask the Environmental Management Commission (EMC) to adopt rules to reduce toxic emissions.”

Wednesday’s EPA report revealed that Tuscaloosa’s cancer risk rate caused by air pollution was 67 per 100,000 people, while Jefferson County’s air pollution posed a risk of 63 in 100,000. The national average is 3.6 per 100,000 people.

The Conservation Alabama Foundation’s report is available online at
Website.

Links to Other Air Reports

Summary of Results from the EPA National-Scale Air Toxics Assessment (Released June 2009)

Toxic Air and America’s Schools (USA Today – December 2008)

Toxic Air Pollution in Alabama – A Threat to Human Health (December 2008)

Birmingham Air Toxics Study (February 2009)

Justice in the Air (April 2009)

Links to Articles

Jefferson and Tuscaloosa Counties make EPA Top 20 List for Cancer Risk from Airborne Pollutants (The Birmingham News – June 25, 2009)

Study: Holt has high risk of cancer from air pollution (The Tuscaloosa News – June 25, 2009)

Let’s Break Down South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford’s Affair, That ‘Sparking Thing’

I had a crush on a chick from Argentina once in New Orleans. Their culture is interesting, and not so prudish as here. Maybe we should legalize sex in American, eh?

Sorry, though. We can’t cry for family values Republicans caught with their pants down at this point … Lewinsky anyone?