Media Saves the Beach in News

"For the first time in nearly 30 years, the Environmental Protection Agency plans to limit the quantity of toxic metals that coal-fired power plants release into waterways. The agency said Tuesday that equipment required to reduce pollution in the air has increased harmful contaminants in water discharged by power plants, particularly heavy metals such as selenium, cadmium, mercury and lead. Current regulations do nothing to control metals and are not enough to protect water quality and wildlife, the agency said."

The issue this article is talking about is about power plants not filtering out toxic metals in the water that are pumping out into waterways. The article mentioned that there was research done and of all of the power plants in America, only a small amount are using the necessary equipment to lessen the amount of metals in the water they are sending out. The EPA has released a due date for the project, which is in 2012, but the administrator, Lisa Jackson is pushing for an earlier due date as a result of a toxic spill in Tennessee that killed acres of wildlife and damaged homes.

I feel like this article links to our field trip today, we took water samplings of the polluted water at Ocean Beach. Due to the raw sewage spill that went through the San Diego River watershed, it flowed out into the dog beach in OB. We went out and tested the water, and are going to see our results tomorrow. Aside from the obvious, it ties in with our class and how we are testing water quality, we're seeing what the quality of water is that we are swimming in and surfing in. As far as Media Saves the Beach goes, it's practically the same. The EPA wants cleaner water, we want cleaner water, we're sampling areas of water, so are they. We are doing the same thing that the EPA is doing, by making sure that the water in our area is as clean as it can be.

If you want more information regarding this topic, go to the Environmental Protection Agency's website at www.epa.gov.

*If you want to check out the article and read the rest, click http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/sep/15/us-power-plant-pollution-091509/?politics&zIndex=166281