On the eve of Earth Day 2000, whose theme is clean energy, an environmental group has blown the whistle on nearly 600 of the nation's dirtiest power plants. Together, the 594 power plants emit more than 2 billion tons of pollutants that cause smog, acid rain, mercury pollution and global warming. Environmentalists say loopholes in the Clean Air Act allow older power plants to emit 10 times as much nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide as newer plants and permit all power plants to spew unlimited quantities of mercury and carbon dioxide. What has happened is that the old plants have not retired. The U.S. Public Interest Research Group released the report on power plant pollution Nitrogen oxide causes smog.
Sulfur dioxide produces fine particulate matter and acid rain.
Mercury contaminates fish and, when ingested by pregnant or nursing women, can cause neurological damage. Carbon dioxide has been linked by many of the world's scientists to global warming. Sen. Jim Jeffords, R-Vermont, author of the Clean Energy Act, a bill to clean up the polluting power plants, joined PIRG in releasing the report. The public can no longer tolerate the health and environmental threats caused by continued reliance on old, dirty coal plants. The Southern Company, based in Atlanta, Georgia, is the dirtiest power plant, according to the report.