VICTORIES

Thanks to actions by concerned residents like you and by the Sierra Club, we have already celebrated several recent victories that will help stop polluters and protect our health:

• Concerned about toxic coal ash threatening their health, more than 110,000 people have submitted public comments through the Sierra Club website and over 6,000 have sent comment postcards to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). At least 2,000 people packed the eight public hearings held on the proposed coal ash protections, taking time off from work and their families, and often traveling long distances—a clear indication of the scope of the coal ash threat.

• With input from scientists, health experts and parents nationwide, the EPA proposed a new protection from Nitrogen Oxide, which will safeguard our children, the sick, and the elderly--particularly those that live, work, or play near highways--from short-term spikes in this dangerous pollutant.

• The EPA proposed new protections from mercury pollution from industrial boilers, process heaters and solid waste incinerators, a move aimed at several air toxics that are known or suspected to cause cancer and other serious health problems.

• Toxic mercury from cement kilns will drop by 90% thanks to new EPA protections, saving 2,500 lives, prevent thousands of heart and respiratory conditions and save billions of dollars in health expenses each year.

• Listening to commuters and to health experts, the Obama administration announced new fuel economy standards for vehicles, calling for an average of 35.5 miles per gallon and tougher emissions protections by 2016, reducing oil use and dangerous smog pollution.

Check back on this page for progress on the critical health protections we can win in 2011!