How we use and produce our energy affects our environment, our health and our economy. Currently, over 75% of Georgia’s energy comes from dirty coal-fired power plants. By increasing energy efficiency and shifting to clean, renewable energy we can improve our air quality, safeguard our health, and build a strong economy on sustainable energy solutions. Environment Georgia supports:
• Creating a Clean Energy Fund and an aggressive Energy Efficiency Goal, as recommended by the Energy Council’s recently released State Energy Strategy.
• Promoting the production and use of biofuels in Georgia.
• Halting the construction of new coal-fired power plants in the state, including a massive plant proposed by LS Power that would create global warming gases and pollute Georgia’s air and water for years to come.
Protecting Georgia’s Waters
Georgia’s waterways make up a vital part of our state, providing drinking water for millions and beautiful places to fish, vacation and recreate. Every waterway in Georgia should be fishable and swimmable, and everyone should have access to a clean source of drinking water. We need to protect our coastal waters, rivers, lakes, estuaries and wetlands both for ourselves and for future generations. Environment Georgia:
• Supports designating the headwaters of some of our most breathtaking rivers, such as the Conasauga, Jacks and Chattahoochee Rivers, as Outstanding National Resource Waters in order to help protect them from pollution.
• Opposes efforts to remove stream buffer protection from waterways. We must continue to maintain a natural vegetation buffer of at least 25 feet along a waterway to provide critical protection from pollution and help prevent flooding of downstream property owners.
Saving Georgia’s Green Spaces
Georgia is home to priceless natural, historic and recreational areas. Many of our green spaces will decline unless the state acts now to protect these spaces for future generations. Environment Georgia:
• Supports securing funding for the purchase of some of our last remaining significant green spaces.
• Supports completing the Beltline, a 22-mile loop of trails, parks, and transit through the city of Atlanta.
• Opposes efforts to stymie our state from providing essential environmental protections.
Protecting Georgia’s Coast
Georgia’s coast and barrier islands are beautiful recreational places, important habitats for a wide variety of species, and a billion dollar economic resource. These benefits would all be threatened by oil and gas drilling and exploration. Environment Georgia supports efforts that:
• Extend the ban on oil and gas drilling and exploration off our coast.
Protecting Georgians from Toxics
Mercury is a potent neurotoxin that can harm the brain, heart, and immune system. Developing fetuses and children are especially at risk as even low-level mercury exposure can cause learning disabilities, developmental delays, decreased IQ, and memory and attention problems. Studies also associate mercury exposure with increased heart attack risk in adults.
Power plants remain the largest industrial source of U.S. mercury emissions. Mercury washes into our lakes and streams and accumulates in fish. As a result, Georgia’s Environmental Protection Division urges women and children to limit their intake of fish caught in Georgia’s lakes and streams. Environment Georgia supports:
• Reducing the amount of mercury emitted by our coal-fired power plants by 90 percent.
• Expanding the testing of fish and humans so that the full impact of mercury pollution in Georgia can be measured.