Just in Time for Christmas: Catholics United Welcomes New EPA Mercury Regulations

New public health standards will require coal-burning power plants to remove Mercury and other toxins from air pollution.

Washington DC – Just days ahead of the Christmas holiday, the Environmental Protection Agency released new Clean Air Act regulations that will protect the lives of thousands of children by requiring coal-burning power plants to remove Mercury and other toxic elements from their emissions. Mercury is a heavy metal that severely affects the brain development of children. These regulations, first supported by the Republican administration of President George H. W. Bush, have been 21 years in the making.

These new public health standards are firmly supported by Catholic social teaching and the pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI. The Catholic faith holds that society has a moral obligation to protect God's creation and to care for the poor and vulnerable whom are most likely to be adversely affected by Mercury pollution. Furthermore, Pope Benedict XVI, nicknamed the 'Green Pope' has made care for creation a central component of his pontificate.

“Catholics and people of faith from across the political spectrum welcome the EPA's new public health standards on Mercury pollution because they will protect the lives of children,” said James Salt, executive director of Catholics United. “This Christmas season, as Christians contemplate Mary and the birth of the infant Jesus, we also give thanks to the EPA for protecting the lives of countless children, and especially the lives of the unborn, who will benefit from cleaner air.”

For more information on Pope Benedict and his work on behalf of better environmental protections, see The Atlantic; Father, Sun and the Holy Spirit:
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2011/04/the-father-the-sun-and-the-holy-spirit/8405/