Tell New Indiana Governor to Clean Up Pence’s Dirty Coal!

  • by: Susan V
  • recipient: Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb

Under Pence's leadership, Indiana failed to protect the health of its most vulnerable citizens - children living near some of America's worst polluting power plants.

According to an investigation by Center for Public Integrity, the city of Evansville, Indiana alone is surrounded by four of these super polluters that collectively "pump out millions of pounds of toxic air pollution" and "throw off greenhouse gases on par with Hong Kong or Sweden."

The poor air quality not only causes asthma and poor lung development in children, says CPI, but studies are also finding links to autism and childhood psychiatric conditions, as well as neurological problems, stroke and heart attack in adults.

Even worse, Indiana's lax smog regulation has been bad for those living downwind, like people in Maryland. Maryland has had some of the worst air quality in the country, but not because it's not taken drastic action to improve it. The Frederick News-Post says that "as much as 70 percent" of Maryland's ozone pollution problem comes from upwind states.

CPI says Pence insists the costs of switching to cleaner energy source is too high. But the truth is Indianans, and everyone else downwind, are already paying with their health. Instead of subsidizing the coal industry by allowing companies to pollute the air for free, Indiana should demand that they clean up their act.

Indiana's new governor now has a chance to clean up the pollution that's killing children in his state and others downwind. Sign this petition to demand Governor Holcomb Clean up Pence's Dirty Coal.

To Governor Holcomb,


It's clear that when Pence is talking about the costs of shifting to cleaner and more sustainable energy sources, he's only talking about energy bills, not the high costs of health care and not the costs of disability or loss of family members due to dirty coal pollution.


Center for Public Integrity notes that even though Pence's predescessor Mitch Daniels was also a pro-coal Republican, at least his administration "started a mandatory energy-efficiency program to cut back on waste and crafted rules to allow more people to go solar."


All of that ended when Mike Pence took over. Scientists at Purdue told CPI that when they tried to share resources to help the state "to protect energy and transportation infrastructure, the health of the public and economic development," they got "zero response" from the Pence administration.


Now there's opportunity for progress again, and your administration can start by listening to the state's own university experts. We, the undersigned, insist that you take immediate steps to clean up Pence's dirty coal emissions.


Thanks for your time.


 

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