The Myth of Killer MERCURY – WSJ.com

[Erik Sine]

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The Myth of Killer MERCURY – WSJ.com

by MB Snow

The Myth of Killer Mercury

Panicking people about fish is no way to protect public health.

OPINION MAY 25, 2011

By WILLIE SOON AND PAUL DRIESSEN

The Environmental Protection Agency recently issued 946 pages of new rules requiring that U.S. power plants sharply reduce their (already low) emissions of mercury and other air pollutants. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson claims that while the regulations will cost electricity producers $10.9 billion annually, they will save 17,000 lives and generate up to $140 billion in health benefits.

There is no factual basis for these assertions. To build its case against mercury, the EPA systematically ignored evidence and clinical studies that contradict its regulatory agenda, which is to punish hydrocarbon use.

Mercury has always existed naturally in Earth’s environment. A 2009 study found mercury deposits in Antarctic ice across 650,000 years. Mercury is found in air, water, rocks, soil and trees, which absorb it from the environment. This is why our bodies evolved with proteins and antioxidants that help protect us from this and other potential contaminants.

Another defense comes from selenium, which is found in fish and animals. Its strong attraction to mercury molecules protects fish and people against buildups of methylmercury, mercury’s biologically active and more toxic form. Even so, the 200,000,000 tons of mercury naturally present in seawater have never posed a danger to any living being.

How do America’s coal-burning power plants fit into the picture? They emit an estimated 41-48 tons of mercury per year. But U.S. forest fires emit at least 44 tons per year; cremation of human remains discharges 26 tons; Chinese power plants eject 400 tons; and volcanoes, subsea vents, geysers and other sources spew out 9,000-10,000 additional tons per year.

[dave C.]

I use to play with the mercury in my dads neon shop when I was young. I should be dead by now if all they claim is true. I do believe however, it has caused me to gain weight over the last several years and not the beer & fast food they claim.

I believe you can also add the myth of Asbestos to that also. It was and still is the best fire retardant. It's removal also single handedly devastated the ecomomy of Kazakhstan, if anyone cares.

Don't get me started on DDT

Just my opinion, I could be wrong!

[saneon]

The tree huggers would love to have us all believe that humans are responsible for the condition of our warming climate.It's how they move their agenda forward. Earth's climate has gone through various heating and cooling cycles since the dawn of time , long before we were ever here and will contiue to do so long after we are gone. It's just the way it is .

I liken the environmentalists view of the situation to the Chicago Bulls blaming that one white guy at the end of Miami's bench for getting them knocked out of the playoffs.

Lebron James - 25 pts

Dwayne Wade - 32 pts

Chris Bosh - 28 pts

white guy - 3 pts 5 fouls and a technical for arguing his point

Makes no sense and there is no science to back it up.

[imanut]

I get your point, but that white guy had an impact just like one other guy that hadn't played all year - and he comes in and totally changed game two by his activity. LeBron and Wade - they just did what was expected of them - and they killed our little bulls. Just couldn't handle that LeBron guy!

gn

[imanut]

I use to play with the mercury in my dads neon shop when I was young. I should be dead by now if all they claim is true. I do believe however, it has caused me to gain weight over the last several years and not the beer & fast food they claim.

I believe you can also add the myth of Asbestos to that also. It was and still is the best fire retardant. It's removal also single handedly devastated the ecomomy of Kazakhstan, if anyone cares.

Don't get me started on DDT

Just my opinion, I could be wrong!

If you ever see yourself getting into Chicago some weekend, or whenever, call me. We'll get together and have a long chat about mercury - .

gn

[saneon]

I get your point, but that white guy had an impact just like one other guy that hadn't played all year - and he comes in and totally changed game two by his activity. LeBron and Wade - they just did what was expected of them - and they killed our little bulls. Just couldn't handle that LeBron guy!

gn

yeah , sorry about that Gary , I was hoping the Bulls were going to win that series too. Future looks bright for your team though.

I guess I'm gonna be a Mavericks fan now. Can't stand Miami!

[dave C.]

I use to play with the mercury in my dads neon shop when I was young. I should be dead by now if all they claim is true. I do believe however, it has caused me to gain weight over the last several years and not the beer & fast food they claim.

I believe you can also add the myth of Asbestos to that also. It was and still is the best fire retardant. It's removal also single handedly devastated the ecomomy of Kazakhstan, if anyone cares.

Don't get me started on DDT

Just my opinion, I could be wrong!

If you ever see yourself getting into Chicago some weekend, or whenever, call me. We'll get together and have a long chat about mercury - .

gn

Will do, It's always a good weekend getaway. Especially when it involves the "friendly confines". Dave

[manuellynch]

Gary - thanks for sharing the mercury stories in the past - I have heard the same from several others.

I guess the point is that it is now law - so we adjust and deal with it. And next time you can vote for someone who you want or hope to do something different - go vote.

I believe that the creative and talented businesses or those that quickly adjust to what is "the new law"

I am sure we have all heard the phrase "perception is reality" - it could also be said "that the reality of a situation is deceptively presented to help someone"...

Think of going through airport security and the new body scanners - someone made a lot of money. So who will make money off the new rules? Do you think the money will be put towards fire departments to help them put out coal producing fires faster??? I doubt it.

When things like this get passed it doesnt always make a lot of sense - but it is that way....adjust, move on, and figure out how you can make a dime off it - thats my approach.

Do you know how many old style Butchers are going to do well now that Mark Zuckerberg from Facebook says that if he is going to eat meat he will kill the animals himself and take them to a butcher.... just watch, local neighborhood butchers will be doing better soon. I doubt Walmart will offer that service!!!

[Snoochie]

Gary - thanks for sharing the mercury stories in the past - I have heard the same from several others.

I guess the point is that it is now law - so we adjust and deal with it. And next time you can vote for someone who you want or hope to do something different - go vote.

I believe that the creative and talented businesses or those that quickly adjust to what is "the new law"

I am sure we have all heard the phrase "perception is reality" - it could also be said "that the reality of a situation is deceptively presented to help someone"...

Think of going through airport security and the new body scanners - someone made a lot of money. So who will make money off the new rules? Do you think the money will be put towards fire departments to help them put out coal producing fires faster??? I doubt it.

When things like this get passed it doesnt always make a lot of sense - but it is that way....adjust, move on, and figure out how you can make a dime off it - thats my approach.

Do you know how many old style Butchers are going to do well now that Mark Zuckerberg from Facebook says that if he is going to eat meat he will kill the animals himself and take them to a butcher.... just watch, local neighborhood butchers will be doing better soon. I doubt Walmart will offer that service!!!

Mr. Axiom;

Did I read correctly somewhere or am I mistaken about your company providing or installing LED lighting for Einstein Brothers Bagels. I perform service for their stores here in California and was wondering which ones you have done as I have not seen it in action.

Also, as far as your retrofit at KFC in Diamond Bar, was this an isolated test? I assume you performed this for YUM Brands? Again, I have a relationship with them but haven't seen any other stores. As I am sure you know, YUM not only operates KFC but also Taco Bell which is on every corner in the USA. Also, in talking with my source who is an upper level executive, I was told that KFC is absolutely raging in China. Have you or are you in the process of penetrating this market. Someone else in my family, who is now a commercial pilot after doing a long stint in the military as a fighter pilot ran into an American businessman in Hong Kong who is in the process of licensing some sort of lighting products in the Chinese market. My family member wasn't sure of all the particulars but the businessman was sure this whole process would have a short shelf life as some entity in China would probably very quickly steal the technology.

Just some random questions......

Dominic

[manuellynch]

1. Einsteins in Texas, New Mexico, Florida, Illinois, North California, all over... dont know exact locations.

2. KFC in Diamond Bar was a franchise. Isolated store. KFC is taking off in New Zealand as well.

3. Agree on China - fast growth, American technology will be replaced by home made Chinese solutions. China economy will rise and fall very quickly - just my prediction. The rise of USA economy took a good 125-150 years. I think China's rise to the top this time will be 30-40 years and then they will fall as well. Just my prediction. The cycles of history are getting faster.

[Snoochie]

1. Einsteins in Texas, New Mexico, Florida, Illinois, North California, all over... dont know exact locations.

2. KFC in Diamond Bar was a franchise. Isolated store. KFC is taking off in New Zealand as well.

3. Agree on China - fast growth, American technology will be replaced by home made Chinese solutions. China economy will rise and fall very quickly - just my prediction. The rise of USA economy took a good 125-150 years. I think China's rise to the top this time will be 30-40 years and then they will fall as well. Just my prediction. The cycles of history are getting faster.

Mr. Axiom;

As far as the Einstein chain goes, did the retrofit encompass all the store lighting as in KFC or was it just the signs ?

Dominic

[manuellynch]

right now just signs - but your head is in the right place going after inside...

[Snoochie]

right now just signs - but your head is in the right place going after inside...

You took the thought right out of my head. The inside of most of the stores is straight out of the 60's and could use some modernization to their lighting systems. Heck, a good many in SoCal still use the old 75 Par or R type floods at their ceilings. Might be worth while pursuing.............

Dominic

[apaulling]

one last old school mercury storey-- IN the late 60's when my dad was just starting out his sign bzness, he rented space from a couple of "crazy" greeks who had a trophy shop & 2 drag strips (western PA) among other more questionable ventures. Alex, the more ecentric of the 2, also collected mercury as he had heard there would be a world wide shortage beginning in '76. He kept the stuff in gallon

pickle jars along one wall last count had over 100 gals, of course we "experimented" with it on the floor, but in relatively large amounts compared to the occasional broken rectal thermometer.

WHen time came for my brother & I to enter our first soap box derby, Alex called us over a couple hours before our heats and presented us with 4 flasks of the Hg, each approx 25 lbs and meant to go in our pockets after the weigh in!! We were excited, but my dad caught wind of it & turned it into a classic morality lesson on cheating. THis lesson had not even taken root in our 12-13 year old brains weeks later when we were crushed to discover during our trip to Akron a girl had used a nose mounted electro-magnet to win the derby down finals......

[manuellynch]

That is a great soap box story, thanks for sharing - good memories

[dave C.]

one last old school mercury storey-- IN the late 60's when my dad was just starting out his sign bzness, he rented space from a couple of "crazy" greeks who had a trophy shop & 2 drag strips (western PA) among other more questionable ventures. Alex, the more ecentric of the 2, also collected mercury as he had heard there would be a world wide shortage beginning in '76. He kept the stuff in gallon

pickle jars along one wall last count had over 100 gals, of course we "experimented" with it on the floor, but in relatively large amounts compared to the occasional broken rectal thermometer.

WHen time came for my brother & I to enter our first soap box derby, Alex called us over a couple hours before our heats and presented us with 4 flasks of the Hg, each approx 25 lbs and meant to go in our pockets after the weigh in!! We were excited, but my dad caught wind of it & turned it into a classic morality lesson on cheating. THis lesson had not even taken root in our 12-13 year old brains weeks later when we were crushed to discover during our trip to Akron a girl had used a nose mounted electro-magnet to win the derby down finals......

That is an incredible amount of mercury your friend accumulated. That would be about 115lbs. per gallon x 100 gal.

I've heard of people experimenting with it in golf clubs. They hollow out the driver then fill it with mercury leaving room for it to move so when the club hits the ball the mercury keeps moving to give the swing that much more velocity. For me that would mean I would have to go even farther into the woods to find my ball.

[imanut]

Can you say "toxic waste site"?

gn