Worse Than Nixon On The Environment From the Sierra Club's Analysis of Bush's "Clear Skies" Initiative: Mercury is a dangerous toxin that threatens people and wildlife as a pollutant from coal-fired power plants. The EPA estimates that enforcement of existing toxic air pollution protections in the Clean Air Act will limit mercury pollution to 5 tons per year by 2008. The Bush Administration’s plan weakens the limit to 26 tons per year by 2010 – allowing 520 percent more mercury pollution. A new EPA report discusses the ways pregnant women pass mercury on to their babies, causing mental retardation, but why did the Administration sit on the report for more than nine months and only release it after journalists exposed their findings? The Sierra Club's Analysis of the proposed Clear Skies Initiative The consensus amongst environmental groups is that Bush's "Clear Skies" program waters down the Clean Air Act. The Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act, by the way, were signed into law by President Nixon. That's right, Bush is further to the right on the environment than Tricky Dick. There was a time when Republicans shared common cause with Democrats when it came to breathing air and drinking water. Perhaps these republican conservationists weren't too concerned about spotted owls and enjoyed a good hunt now and then, but these two issues crossed the aisle. We need to return to those days by encouraging our congressmen to hold the "Clear Skies Initiative" up to light. Tell republicans like Jim Ramstad, a Republican conservationist, "Don't you dare touch Nixon's Clean Air Act".