Groups urge Obama to support mercury regulations
February 16, 2009 by Personal Liberty News Desk
Green groups from around the world have sent a message to the new administration that it should support international efforts to regulate mercury emissions.
During a meeting at the State Department last week, representatives of a coalition of 75 environmental groups promoting mercury reduction called on President Obama to back a binding treaty on mercury at the United Nations meeting this week in Nairobi, Kenya.
"We strongly recommend an approach that embraces cooperation and leadership, rather than the obstruction and inaction we have seen from the previous administration," says Michael Bender co-coordinator for the Zero Mercury Working Group.
He adds that "we urge President Obama to seize this opportunity for leadership and support an international agreement to control this dangerous pollutant."
In a letter signed by 90 U.S. and foreign-based groups activists stress that most countries are in favor of a legally binding international agreement that would control mercury emissions.
Such emissions come mainly from coal-fired power plants as well as practices such as the use of mercury in small scale gold mining.
The signatories include Physicians for Social Responsibility, American Nurses Association, Clean Water Action, Greenpeace and Health Care Without Harm as well as World Wildlife Fund – Guianas, the Basel Action Network, Friends of the Earth Malaysia, Indonesia Toxics-Free Network, and many others.
Exposure to mercury has been linked to brain damage in fetuses and small children and neurological disorders in adults. 
What about the mercury in the new fangled LIGHTBULBS? I guess green groups care not for the immediate threat to children, only the imagine threats. Hypocrisy reigns supreme. What is the matter with you green groups…drop your light bulbs and take the chance with the children around you. This lightbulb menace is a catastrophe just waiting to happen. Oh yeah, if you dont have the coal fired power plants, you have no electicity to light them with…like I said what a bunch of hypocrisy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
very good pt mercury light bulbs are good and coal fired power plants are bad . As of lately all large coal fired power plants have to be built in a undesirable area , where the more ignorant undesirable people live and work . The only warning is dont eat fish more than once a week from the lake .