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About NC GreenPower >
Program Overview
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Fossil Fuels
and the Environment |
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- Coal-fired plants produce pollutants that can increase cases
of smog, acid rain and mercury pollution, and can cause respiratory
distress in humans. The significant release of CO2
from fossil fuel combustion also may increase the potential for
global warming.
- Air pollution has reduced the average visibility in the Smoky
Mountains from 113 miles to 25 miles.
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- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that
8% of women of childbearing age have unsafe levels of mercury
in their blood streams, which can lead to birth defects and brain
damage in babies. Mercury is one of the most toxic forms of pollution
released during fossil fuel combustion and is most commonly passed
onto humans through consumption of fish. North Carolina frequently
issues consumption advisories for largemouth bass, chain pickerel
(jack fish) and bowfin (blackfish) caught East of I-95.
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