LEXINGTON, Ky. - It was no ordinary haircut for mother Alissa Rossi, who visited a downtown Lexington salon - not for a new look to her locks but to see if her mane shows mercury concentrations in her body.
The Sierra Club is sponsoring similar events across the nation to draw attention to the health impacts of mercury pollution from coal-fired power plants. Coal foes say the heavy metal makes its way into waterways, threatening aquatic life and public health.
Rossi trimmed a little off the top to test for mercury that environmentalists say puts women of child-bearing age at risk of harming their babies, especially if the mothers-to-be eat a lot of fish.
"You hear all these things about how you should be eating fish because they have all these great omega-3s and things that are really important for babies' brain development. But then when you look into it and try to figure out what kind of fish is safe, it gets kind of nerve-wracking because it seems like very little fish is safe."
Lauren McGrath, associate campaign representative of the Sierra Club of Kentucky's Beyond Coal Campaign, says mercury is a potent neurotoxin that's especially dangerous to small children and developing babies.
"Exposure to mercury in-utero can contribute to high developmental disorders, birth defects, even delayed onset of walking and talking."
A recent report analyzing data from the EPA named Kentucky the sixth most mercury-polluted state in the nation, with coal-fired power plants emitting close to 6,000 pounds of it in 2009. Earlier this month, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed federal rules to limit mercury emissions from the nation's fleet of coal-fueled power plants - a move McGrath says is long overdue.
"At least one in 12 and as many as one in six American women have mercury high enough in their bodies to put their baby at risk. So, that's why attention to this new proposed rule - and then also, in the short term, paying attention to the type of fish we're consuming - is very critical."
Knowledge is key, Rossi says, and so is action.
"On the larger scale, all of us - not just pregnant women and the people who love them, but all of us - need to make an effort to kind of raise a call for the EPA to do its job and protect us from these kind of contaminates."
The coal industry and many Kentucky policymakers are squawking at the EPA's pollution-control efforts, claiming that more stringent regulations will force electricity rates to rise and threaten thousands of mining jobs.
The clips of hair are being tested for mercury by a University of Georgia laboratory. The results are expected in two to three weeks.
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A new report found four dams in the Columbia River Basin are big emitters of methane.
Research from the organization Tell The Dam Truth showed the four lower Snake River dams in eastern Washington emit the equivalent of 1.8 million metric tons of carbon dioxide each year.
Robin Everett, deputy western region field director for the Sierra Club, said it undercuts some of the claims the dams are helping provide the region with clean energy.
"It's really clear from this report that we have to take this a lot more seriously that there are some real impacts as far as emissions go from these dams," Everett asserted.
The reports showed the dams produce the equivalent emissions of burning 2 billion pounds of coal annually. Defenders of the dams counted they are important for barging and irrigation for the area's agricultural lands.
But Everett pointed out the dams have another effect on the region: they block the dwindling population of salmon and steelhead from traveling upstream on the Snake River. She noted it not only hurts fish populations but the tribes relying on them.
"We have an obligation for them to be able to fish and if there are no fish to fish, we have broken the treaties," Everett contended
Chinook salmon are also an important source of food for orca on the West Coast. Everett added protecting salmon is important for tribes and the region as a whole.
"Our moral obligation to the salmon and the orca that depend on them are met as well," Everett concluded.
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A proposed pumped-storage hydroelectric facility for Cuffs Run near the Susquehanna River in York County has been challenged by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
The foundation filed a motion to intervene in the proceedings with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which is considering granting a preliminary permit to build a 1.8-mile-long dam for the project.
Harry Campbell, science policy and advocacy director for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, said they are working to stop the project in order to protect the unique Cuffs Run area and its ecological benefits for future generations.
"If approved, this project would destroy it about 580 acres of prime farmland, fields and forests, some of which have not been disturbed in about 100 years," Campbell pointed out. "Those farms, fields and forests exist harmoniously with and in support of a plethora of plant and animal life."
The foundation is circulating an online petition and encouraged Pennsylvanians to provide comments before Sunday.
The stream is home to naturally reproducing brook trout. Advocates worry the $2.5 billion project would also be harmful to the Susquehanna River. Campbell noted about 40 families would be displaced.
"For those who call Cuffs Run home, it's more than just a place to live. It's their heritage and they want it to be part of their legacy," Campbell asserted. "This project just simply is the wrong idea in the wrong place. In order to honor that heritage and that legacy, we need to preserve this area."
Campbell emphasized the Cuffs Run project is about 993 acres of land draining into a 2.5-mile unnamed tributary. He added in terms of stream habitat, the rocks, pebbles and woody material have been identified as among the best in the region for supporting critters living in the water.
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Tennesseans want more say in how the Tennessee Valley Authority plans for their future electricity needs and a bill now in Congress could give the public more influence.
The "TVA Increase Rate of Participation Act," would require a more open decision-making process for the utility.
Brianna Knisley, director of public power campaigns for Appalachian Voices, said the TVA is currently developing its new Integrated Resource Plan to meet future energy demands. The bill would require more public participation in the plan's proceedings.
"Right now the stakeholders who get to provide input early on in the IRP process are all hand-selected by TVA," Knisley pointed out. "You can't choose to be in that IRP working group. And those are the only folks who get substantial input in the architecture of the IRP, as it's being designed."
The utility serves more than 10 million people across six states. The TVA said it is reviewing the legislation. A draft of the plan will be published at a later date. The TVA said it already has a "robust stakeholder engagement plan."
After the plan is released, Knisley noted public input happens during what's known as the scoping phase of the National Environmental Policy Act. Open houses are set up, where the TVA answers questions from the public. Knisley encouraged Tennesseans to raise any of their concerns during the public and virtual hearings.
"I think additional public input into our region's long-term energy plan is only going to strengthen outcomes," Knisley contended. "And make that long-term energy plan better meet the needs of the Tennessee Valley, as a whole."
She added it is important for Tennesseans to work with Congress on the best way to improve public input in the TVA decision-making process.
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