RE: Fully restore coastal Louisiana wetlands!

Dear Representative ,

Emissions from coal-fired power plants are the largest source of mercury pollution in our environment. Mercury is especially harmful to women of childbearing age, pregnant women, and children. Mercury exposure can cause permanent damage to a fetus and has been linked to neurological disorders such as learning disabilities, poor motor function, mental retardation, seizures and cerebral palsy. At least 44 states have issued warnings urging residents -- especially children and women of childbearing age -- to avoid or limit their consumption of mercury-laden fish caught in local waters.

Healthy coastal wetlands form a critical natural barrier to protect New Orleans and other Louisiana communities from hurricanes. Scientists tell us that a million acres of these natural buffers have already disappeared. Future generations cannot be secure if these losses continue. Louisiana's coastline is shrinking. Since 1930, 1,900 square miles of coastal wetlands -- roughly an area the size of Delaware -- have been lost because silt that once spread out and replenished the Mississippi�s coastal delta is now funneled into the Gulf of Mexico.

Great engineering works built for ships and flood control have diverted the river's replenishing sediment and freshwaters away from the wetlands, leaving this vital coastline less protected. About every thirty minutes an area of coastal land the size of a football field vanishes only to be replaced by open water. Restoring Louisiana's coastal wetlands must be part of a long-term reconstruction plan for Louisiana and the Mississippi River delta.

The tragedy of Katrina was decades in the making, and it is up to Congress to ensure that history does not repeat itself. Act now to demand that Congress channel as much resources as needed to restore the vital wetlands that will protect the people and economy of the Gulf Coast from future disaster.

Most Sincerely,

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