As we go to press, we see two important news items.
First, The United States Supreme Court has decided to leave the Environmental Protection Agency’s regulation on mercury emissions from power plants intact. Twenty states had sued over the regulation.
This is particularly important. Until recently, mercury levels in our environment had been on the increase because of burning coal. There is no practical technology for removing mercury from the environment, but it can accumulate in a food chain, producing health-threatening levels. Some states have web pages providing information on how much wild fish can be safely eaten from waters in the state. This is particularly important for children, as mercury attacks the nervous system, doing permanent damage.
Also, an analysis of new data from the Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration highlights a fact some people will find very surprising. Electricity from all renewable sources provided 19.2% of the country’s demand in March. It was is nearly equal to the output of all nuclear plants.
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