Clean Air

If elected, would you favor a new regulation that requires power plants to clean up their practices to comply with current accepted air quality standards?

The Environmental Protection Agency has determined that 97 percent of Connecticutís citizens breathe air considered seriously unhealthy. The worst polluting offenders are five fossil fuel power plants in the state. These power plants were built 25-40 years ago, and presently operate through a special interest loophole in the clean air standards. This loophole allows the plants to emit two to three times more pollution than new plants burning the same fuel. Connecticut can replace its dependence on fossil fuels with cleaner alternatives such as solar, wind, fuel cells and more efficient energy technology. According to the American Lung Association, already more than 175,000 people in the state suffer from asthma, and over 600,000 children are at risk of sickness from breathing the air.

For more information, contact www.pirg.org/connpirg/enviro/filthy5/index.htm.

Wildlife

If elected, what would you do to ensure that proper action is taken to preserve "threatened" and "endangered" species as well as increase their chances for continued survival?

Connecticut was once home to 150 more species than live here today. The state currently supports populations of five federally listed "threatened" and four ìendangeredî species. Speaking strictly on a state level, there are about 100 endangered species, meaning that without conservation action, they will become extinct to the state, though populations may survive in other areas. Much of this is caused by the fact that 50 percent of Connecticutís original wetlands have been destroyed, along with development of 90 percent of the coastlines, both prime habitat for wildlife.

For more information, contact www.pirg.org/connpirg/enviro/esa.htm

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