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Page: Profile: Wren's Nest News Local
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Article: 18300
[Environmental]
Date Posted:
7/31/2007
11:04:03 am EDT
Wvox Stats
Views: 6,730
RSS: 16,193
Comments: 24
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BP Gets OK To Dump Mercury Into Lake Michigan
Author: Bobby Carmichael Source: USA Today
Title: BP GETS OK TO DUMP MERCURY INTO LAKE MICHIGAN
A BP (BP) refinery in Indiana will be allowed to continue to dump mercury into Lake Michigan under a permit issued by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management.
The permit exempts the BP plant at Whiting, Ind., 3 miles southeast of Chicago, from a 1995 federal regulation limiting mercury discharges into the Great Lakes to 1.3 ounces per year.
The BP plant reported releasing 3 pounds of mercury through surface water discharges each year from 2002 to 2005, according to the Toxics Release Inventory, a database on pollution emissions kept by the Environmental Protection Agency that is based on information reported by companies.
The permit was issued July 21 in connection with the plant's $3.8 billion expansion, but only late last week began to generate public controversy. It gives the company until at least 2012 to meet the federal standard.
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Community Thoughts: There are 24 comments posted | Reverse Sort |
| Why Does A Foreign Company | Aug 2nd. at 10:30:41 am EDT
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Liriel (Lehigh Acres, Florida) - Email Me
get to dump toxins in our lake? I guess the Thames is already too polluted. Maybe a letter to the British government wouldn't hurt.
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| What? | Aug 1st. at 11:54:51 am EDT
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Mydnyht (Upton, Massachusetts) - Email Me
Are you serious? Wow. Let's start leaking non-harmful amounts of LSD or PCP into the ecosystem too, while we're at it.
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| Nothing Surprises Me Anymore. | Aug 1st. at 10:19:44 am EDT
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Alpha Kilo (St Petersburg, Florida) - Email Me
It's not good news, but again, it's corporate america ($$$$$$$$$$$) . There isn't much in our lives that is not affected by the big business mentality, and most of these things affect us negatively. Just watch the pharmecutical industry and the FDA. They're just as bad. The give us a false sense that they're looking out for the good of everybody, but lining their pockets is all they're really interested in. Why does america have an obesity and diabetes problem? Because there are a lot of bad things in processed foods. Our bodies are starving for nutrition, but it gets empty calories and little value. Add a little poison to the diet? Sure...why not! Almost every big business entity is in bed with the goverment and we, the little people and sheep, go about our days getting sicker, fatter and poorer. The reality is big corporations can poison us, with how they dispose stuff, the dangerous side effects of medicine or how the govern the food industry or how they use and kill people in unecessary wars to achieve even more power and greed.
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| Actions And Words... | Aug 1st. at 8:49:02 am EDT
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Nascent One (Oviedo, Florida) - Email Me
Combined can be a powerful tool.
First, stop buying your gas at BP stations. I know with gas companies, sometimes it seems like the lesser of two evils, but do the best you can.
Second, send BP a letter. BUT, don't go into a tirade about how they are killing the planet, poisioning our water, etc. It's already obvious they know all this and dont care. Instead simply tell them the following:
Dear BP:
I have been a loyal customer for years. On average, I spend about $XX.XX on gas per week, or $XX.XX annually. I chose BP for my gas needs because of your claim that you were environmentally friendly. It has recently come to my attention that you are not.
Therefore, I will no longer be purchasing my gas from BP or any subsidiary companies. In addtion, I have also asked by family, friends, and coworkers to do the same. This will not change untill you stop dumping mercury into our lakes and streams. Do you really want to wait untill 2012 to get our business back?
Sincerely,
(Name)
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| Mercury Experience. | Aug 1st. at 8:24:22 am EDT
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Zianna Elanesse (Lusby, Maryland) - Email Me
I am an RN and several years ago an entire unit at a hospital I worked at had to be closed for months because a mercury thermometer broke and was cleaned up inappropriately which caused the mercury to vaporize. Many of the patients and staff became sick and had to be treated. Luckily nobody died from this incident, but if there had been more than the drop of mercury involved it would have been more serious. As it was, it was a major incident and cost a lot of money to clean up the environment so that it was safe for people to use that space again. Mercury is no longer used in medical equiptment any more because of safety concerns. It certainly doesn't belong in our drinking water and being introduced into the food chain.
Blessed Be
Zianna
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| Environmental Safety | Aug 1st. at 2:20:17 am EDT
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nasionnaich (Stanchfield, Minnesota) - Email Me
I'm sure that if the High Muckety-mucks at BP had to rely on the water from Lake Michigan for their every-day drinking and bathing needs, they would not feel any need to dump any mercury at all. In fact, if they were ever told that the water they just finished drinking from that expensively-priced bottle was taken directly from Lake Michigan, I'm certain they would consult their lawyers right away -- to begin proceedings for a lawsuit against whoever put that water in that bottle.
Another case of "Hey, I don't have to drink it/eat it/live there, so why should I worry about it?"
----nasionnaich
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| No Amount Of Mercury Is Ok For Living Things | Jul 31st. at 7:40:08 pm EDT
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Shadowbear (Hillsboro, Oregon) - Email Me
Mercury exists. So does arsenic, so does cobra venom. None of these things are good for other lifeforms. We attempt to avoid them. Dumping mercury in the lake is bad for fish, plants and people. What part of deadly were they missing?
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| ... | Jul 31st. at 7:15:09 pm EDT
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Draken (Bronx, New York) - Email Me - Web
Did the Indiana Department of Environmental Neglectio...err, "Protection" give Christine Whitman a job?
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| And They Are Doing This..... | Jul 31st. at 4:48:18 pm EDT
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bigcat (peoria, Illinois) - Email Me
knowing that mercury is a poison. I know it may not seem like much, but neither is a keystone- until it moves and starts an avalanche. So much for their ecology bit.
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| I Need Glasses | Jul 31st. at 2:09:07 pm EDT
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WitchPoet (Claremont, California) - Email Me - Web
My once 20/15 vision has gone south the last 5 years. I need to stop hating the fact and get glasses! : - )
That last post was a typists nightmare!
Accept it man, the eyes have had their day unless you get Lasik!
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| Meanwhile, On The Farm | Jul 31st. at 2:05:40 pm EDT
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WitchPoet (Claremont, California) - Email Me - Web
Everyone is spending their time and mney touting this global warming scam. I saw a billboard "Global Warming is a Choice"
Oh puhleez. It is a Business!!! Climate is changning, to where NO ONE KNOWS. It is proven to be caused by changes in the sun. The carbon trading scam is the goal. millions and millions for people who do nothng and expect the dveloping world to pay for their SUV's. While sulpher dioxide and mercury poison the world the liberal "usefull idiots" provide shock troops for the latest con game.
Fact: from mr. Gore's own video graph!
Co2 and temp do track with each otehr, but TEMP RISES FIRST THEN CO2 GOES UP.
Did any of you pass basic algebra?
Can you read a graph?
Then stop being a marketer for the latest global ponzi sceme.
Wake up! Liberals have predators too. And Mr. Gore has sold out to them. I used to defend the guy when people hauled out the old invented the internet thing (heck I still do, the TRUTH is that what he actually said was not inaccurate at all.) But this natural climate change is being used by BOTH SIDES to make money and gather power and NOT to serve the Earth or the people.
The Earth has been MUCH warmer in teh mast, even since mammals appeared.
Climates change, speci4es adapt or do not. IT IS NOT OUR FAULT!
Nor is it our duty to FORCE Mother Earth to remain static so the cuddly critters that WE grew up with can stick around forever and ever.
It is our fault that mercury is in almost all fish today. It is our fault that various toxic wastes cause all sorts of problems that will not go away quickly.
It is out fault when we let Brazil clear one of the last biodiversity reserve for farms and condos.
It is our fault when we do not support a space program that can bring energy ad resources from space and even put many industrial processes in orbit.
Historically CO2 peaks have been followed by a sharp COOLING trend.
Now an ice-age or a mini ice-age would be a lot worse than global warming!
Colder means dryer and dryer means less arable land which means WAR!
Wamrer is wetter (and even the U.N. has admited that expected ocean level increases would be on the order of 17 INCHES not feet)
wetter means MORE arable lands, LOTS more! Wouldn;t it be terrible is Africa blossomed again? Tha Sahara was once a sea of green grasses!!
We need to study what is happeneing and adjust!
And stop wasting time, money heart and emotion on things that we CAN NOT AFFECT and start gettng backto the things we CAN!
Humans have this arrogant need to be at the center of everything good or bad.
We do a lot of nasty things but ,sorry Virgina, we do not produce enough CO2 to make a difference. I get a sad laugh at all the fools with no understanding of the history of the Earth or science complaing about how the SCHOOLS are not teaching enough history or science. It is so much easier to recycle manufactured emotion, to be a ranting cog in someone elses money machine, than to actually understand the world we live in and make intelligent choices:
Global payments to Brazil and certain other countires with biodiversity reserves, payments NOT to develop the land!
Protection of existing wildlands that harbor rich biosystems.
Strict reductions and limits of all truly TOXIC emissions. CO2 is not toxic nor has anyone evidence that it is a "pollutant"!
LEts get back to reality folks!!!!!
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| Boycott | Jul 31st. at 1:51:09 pm EDT
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Stazya (Naperville, Illinois) - Email Me
Everyone around here is calling for a boycott until BP wises up. Which we will do. The bad thing about this is we've been going out of our way to use BP stations because we got sucked in by their "green" advertising. Our little Echo doesn't need a lot, but the sad fact is, I commute 2 hours a day and have to fill up. We've been boycotting Exxon for years now, which of course extends to Mobile (I don't think they've noticed though) . If we boycott BP, I have no idea where I'm going to get my gas. They've both cornered the market around here.
But the worst part? This is just an enth of what's being dumped into this lake. Everyone is so focused on BP right now, that they're ignoring everyone else. I can just see them all washing their hands together maniacally and saying, "just a little more while their heads are turned, just a little more my minions! Waahahaha"
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| An Outrage | Jul 31st. at 1:00:35 pm EDT
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Jennifer (Whiting, Indiana) - Email Me
The BP plant in this story is in MY town, and people around here are *furious* about this development. There are protests being stage and petitions going around, and a very concerted effort to remove Indiana Department of Environmental Management Commissioner Tom Easterly from office.
The outlet where BP intends to dump more of their poisons is not far from a local beach much used by residents. Also, a huge variety of wildlife--ranging from fish, Canadian geese, gulls, terns, storks, egrets, at least two different types of hawks, several species of ducks, mute swans, coyotes, foxes, squirrels, raccoons, possums, rabbits, and deer--gets its drinking water near that area.
The damage done to the environment by this increase in mercury will be enormous.
Find More info -- HERE
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| Just When You Thought It Was Safe To Swim... | Jul 31st. at 12:51:12 pm EDT
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Klarynn (Apache Junction, Arizona) - Email Me
The permitted levels will not affect drinking water, recreation or aquatic life," Indiana Department of Environmental Management Commissioner Thomas Easterly told the Chicago Tribune.
And what is this Mr. Easterly's scientific basis for that comment?
We have to take care of our water...
we have to take care of our trees...
we have to take care of the Earth
If we don't? who will?
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| Mercury In The Lake | Jul 31st. at 12:49:02 pm EDT
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Rhiannon (Shamokin, Pennsylvania) - Email Me
Don't people realize this is just opening the door to allow more hazardous materials to be dumped? Will big business not be satisfied to they ruin every water source on this planet???
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