Sierra Club Ad Campaign In Washington, DC Targets Mercury Risk During Pregnancy (PHOTOS)

Disturbing images of pregnant bellies confronted commuters in Washington, DC this week.

The threat of mercury pollution from coal-fired power plants affecting babies was splashed across 160 subway cars as part of the Sierra Club's new campaign.

Approximately 48 tons of mercury are released into the air each year from power plants -- the plants are "the largest domestic source of federally unrestrained mercury pollution in the United States," according to a Sierra Club press release.

The group claims that at least 1 in 12 women in America have levels of mercury in their bodies high enough to put a baby at risk. "The toxin can cause developmental problems, learning disabilities and delayed onset of walking and talking," they write.

The advertisements call on citizens to take action and fight for cleaner air and water, calling on the Obama Administration to protect children and the environment.

The group's campaign Beyond Coal has garnered the support of New York Mayor Bloomberg, who committed $50 million to the campaign.

A previous Sierra Club campaign in July showed the dangerous health effects of air pollution on children. In that same month, the Natural Resources Defense Council released a list of the top 20 states with the most toxic air pollution from power plants, with Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida taking the lead.

In March, the American Lung Association (ALA) released a report that stated, "particle pollution from power plants is estimated to kill approximately 13,000 people a year."

When the company released the report, ALA representative Janice Nolen told The Huffington Post, "We get criticized for ... making the public aware of the air pollution in their community. Sometimes the fact that there still is an air pollution problem is not a message that people want to hear."

Check out the new, disturbing ad campaign here (Images courtesy of Sierra Club):

Comments

[chereen]

06:06 PM on 11/17/2011

If you are planning or desire pregnancy, while you have the time, discuss your concerns about toxins with your doctor and possibly schedule some testing to be done. Related http://duringpregnancyinfo.com

[T-Haight]

09:01 AM on 11/11/2011

Wow, way to twist the facts, Sierra Club!

So power plants are "the largest domestic source of federally unrestrained mercury pollution in the United States?" How are they unrestrained when they already have federal limits (that the EPA has recently proposed tightening)? Also note that nowhere in that post does it mention that power plants aren't even the majority of released mercury - only a plurality of ~25%.

This is merely a PR stunt to fool people into supporting new EPA requirements that will jack up the cost of electricity with no clear link to human health.

[TheRightIsAnythingBut]

02:07 PM on 11/10/2011

Rand Paul, are you paying attention? I realize that all sorts of stones can be tossed at this - it's the Sierra Club, it's only 13,000 fatalities a year, it's only 8% of women whose babies are at risk, ad nauseaum. The solitary fact remains, and this needs to be an unshakeable foundation to environmental public policy, is that you don't "fix" pollution once and it goes away. Pollution reduction efforts must be an ongoing and permanent effort.

[silverwolf13]

11:38 PM on 11/09/2011

Where are the antiabortion groups on this? These toxins can kill fetuses, causing spontaneous abortions. Is it ok for a CEO to kill fetuses?

[silverwolf13]

11:31 PM on 11/09/2011

Where is the anti-abortion crowd on this? Mercury pollution can actually kill fetuses. Is it that it's murder for a woman to do this, but ok for a CEO?

[Aryeh Melaris]

03:54 PM on 11/09/2011

I always had a feeling that the Sierra Club wanted to mine babies as a green source of mercury!

[Leslie Robinson Goldberg]

12:33 AM on 11/09/2011

All well and good.

But what about fish eating Sierra Club?

And since I'm commenting what about the environmental devastation caused by factory farming. Somebody told me you guys have an alliance with hunters and you don't want to insult the animal killers. Could it be you get $$$ from the NRA?

[quillsinister]

07:46 AM on 11/09/2011

Fish are also, sadly, repositories of Hg. As for the other bit, most hunters are extremely conscientious environmentalists. Ducks Unlimited, for example, has been one of the most effective environmental groups in America at wetlands preservation. Sure, they're doing it largely so they can shoot ducks, but there is a certain "circle of life" thing going on there when a person defends an ecosystem because they're a part of its food chain. The same goes for most of the fisherman I know, many of whom have limited themselves to catch and release only in places where populations are at risk. Perhaps not ideal that we still kill and eat animals, but there is no comparison whatsoever between a wild animal taken by a hunter and a cow raised in a pen.

[TheRightIsAnythingBut]

02:06 PM on 11/10/2011

Is there a shred of evidence behind these statements?

[SitandStay]

12:18 AM on 11/09/2011

The House Republicans attached 39 riders on Hr 2584. The riders aim to do severe damage and render uselss the EPA in protecting us from industry and corporate pollutions. The EPA would not even be permitted to monitor. This is the most important bill before congress now. The Republicans used the debt ceiling brouhaha as a smoke screen and to divert attention away from the REALLY important bills being voted into law.
Please click on the words "39 ways" in the first paragraph of the following link to see what the Republicans have prepared as a gift to their bankrolling, corporate sponsors......

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/28/science/earth/28enviro.html?_r=1&ref=lesliekaufman