Protecting Georgia’s barrier islands

“Preserve Jekyll Island for future generations!” is the message Environment Georgia and hundreds of Environment Georgia activists sent loud and clear when we joined Sen. Jeff Chapman (Brunswick), Rep. Debbie Buckner (Junction City), and the Initiative to Save Jekyll Island in an effort to prevent overdevelopment of this state-owned barrier island.

Jekyll Island boasts magnificent beaches and wild marshland thanks to a law that requires 65 percent of the island be preserved as green space. But plans to redevelop the rest of the island have caused much debate and could have a serious impact on the entire island. Environment Georgia only supports redevelopment that will prioritize preservation of Jekyll’s wild ecosystems over Hilton Head-type tourism, protect Jekyll’s magnificent beaches by keeping redevelopment away from the dunes, and implement green, low-impact building standards.

Overdevelopment could threaten Jekyll Island, a state-owned barrier island.

Air pollution decision fails to protect public health

At an EPA hearing on smog pollution in 2007, Environment Georgia activists turned out in force, making it clear that Georgia wanted cleaner air and a stronger smog standard.

Unfortunately, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Stephen Johnson announced in March that the agency would adopt a new smog rule that’s less protective of public health than the one recommended by EPA’s own scientific advisers.

In addition, under the guise of “modernizing” the Clean Air Act, Johnson called for fundamental changes to the act, including requiring implementation costs to be considered in setting air quality standards and allowing states and local areas to ignore air pollution problems. The EPA’s smog standards force polluters that exceed air pollution limits to clean up, but several studies show that smog standards are too weak to protect public health.