PLEASE SUPPORT ADK'S CLEAN AIR CAMPAIGN - (DONATE NOW)

Many of the challenges ADK faces in our efforts to protect the wilderness and provide responsible recreational opportunities are clearly visible. Where we see trail erosion and blowdown, we get to work hardening footpaths and clearing debris. Where inappropriate development threatens pristine wild lands, we advocate for more restrained alternatives. Where state action (or inaction!) can compromise the Forest Preserve, we are quick to prod Albany and seek sensible resolution.

But today I write to you about a threat to our cherished wild lands and waters that is as invisible as the very air we breathe. In fact, this threat is the air we breathe, laden with chemical precursors to acid rain and toxic forms of mercury. You’ve probably heard about ADK’s involvement in our successful lawsuit to limit emissions from Midwestern power plants and thus reduce the devastating impact of acid rain. Now we face another battle as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) attempts to de-list mercury as a toxic substance while allowing power companies and other manufacturers to buy and sell the right to release this dangerous element into the air.

The Adirondacks and the Catskills already suffer from the impacts of mercury deposition. The state Department of Environmental Conservation has long advised children and pregnant women to avoid eating fish from our waters. Recent studies have revealed that high concentrations of mercury are interfering with the reproductive capacity of loons and many songbirds. The mercury in our air may be invisible, but its effects are insidious. ADK is determined to win this battle to minimize damage to our wild lands and waters and the creatures that dwell there.

Thus ADK has intervened in a lawsuit in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, where we seek to ensure the full enforcement of the Clean Air Act and to nullify attempts by the EPA to permit excessive mercury pollution by the power industry. If we win, the results will be a significant reduction in mercury pollution emitted by those power plants and a chance for wildlife to recover.

ADK seeks to protect the Adirondacks, Catskills, and wild lands and waters across the Northeast.

Your financial support is urgently needed as ADK’s brief against EPA’s untenable position on mercury emissions will be filed with the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on January 26. The decision in ADK’s Supreme Court case, Environmental Defense v Duke Energy, for which ADK submitted a critical brief, is expected within the next few weeks. Our victory in the original NSR II case, which would place strict emission limits on the precursors of acid rain, has been appealed to the Supreme Court. We are preparing to defend our stance.

There is still an enormous amount of work ahead of us. However, an ADK victory isn’t just a legal footnote on some arcane regulation; it will actually reduce acid rain and mercury pollution throughout the Forest Preserve and all of the Northeast. This is a pivotal time for the health of our environment. ADK will see this through, until the damage caused by acid rain and mercury pollution is stopped, once and for all.

Please help ADK protect our waters, forests, and wildlife. Give generously to help us win this important battle for clean air and the future of our wilderness.

(DONATE NOW)

Thank you.

Sincerely,
Neil F. Woodworth

Executive Director
Adirondack Mountain Club