Report May 15, 2008

Dark Horizons: 10 National Parks Most Threatened by New Coal Fired Power Plants

Dark Horizons Report (3.31 MB)

NPCA's report highlights the 10 national parks most threatened by new coal-fired power plants, and calls on the Administration to abandon its effort to permit more harmful air pollution near national parks.

National parks and historical sites provide Americans with some of the most memorable summer vacations anywhere – hiking high mountain trails, paddling down clear rivers, driving or biking scenic parkways. Unfortunately, the vacation season can also bring an unwelcome visitor to our national parks that spoils healthy outdoor fun – air pollution.

As detailed in this report, generations of families may suffer air pollution in our national parks if the Bush Administration succeeds in its plan to weaken park air protection laws. The Administration’s plan would make it easier for coal-fired power plants and other big polluters to circumvent laws intended to keep the air in our national parks clean.

If we fail to stop this plan, our children and grandchildren will inherit national parks with sick and dying trees, parks with fish so laden with mercury that they are unsafe to eat, and parks where visitors cannot hike without risking an asthma attack. It’s not too late to leave a cleaner and brighter national park legacy to tomorrow’s families.

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