Wise and careful use of our natural resources will reduce pollution, minimize waste and conserve finite resources.  We owe it to ourselves, future generations, and those we share the planet with, to clean up the mistakes of our past and identify safe alternatives to today's poisons.  We must have all toxic chemicals regulated, and all people protected from exposure, regardless of their economic standing. 

This campaign is a component of the Sierra Club's Global Challenges - Protecting the Global Commons:  Atmosphere, Ending the Toxic Threat, and Building and Environmentally Sustainable Economy.

Campaign Context 

Industrialization has scarred the Central Appalachia ecoregion with Superfund sites, refineries, and abandoned mines.  Toxic pollutants are flushed through inadequate treatment facilities; unregulated smoke stacks billow out toxic fumes.  Pollution from non point sources enters our watersheds from overflowing sewers and unsound agricultural practices.  The sheer volume of automobile travel compromises the air we breathe.  Acid deposition and its precursors continue to alter the fragile balance of forest life, aggravate respiratory problems, and decrease visibility. 

The solid waste crisis has reached staggering proportions.  Landfills are closing, while mass burn incinerators are opening.  Quick fix, solid waste solutions are stressing our natural systems as well as our wallet. 

We must stop all toxic and hazardous materials from entering our air, water and land.  Regulators must start assessing human and wildlife's cumulative exposure to harmful pollutants.  Government and researchers must start reacting to cumulative and synergistic impacts, not just a person's exposure to a single poison. 
 

Key Objective - In order to preserve open space, including the Catskill Mountains and the Sterling Forest, we will strengthen local land use policy through electing and securing appointments for environmental leaders in neighboring governments. 

Key Objective - To strengthen local land use planning and to prevent high impact real estate development, we will provide technical and legal assistance to grassroots leaders and local officials on solid waste management, hydrological systems, transportation planning and full-cost accounting.  We will develop background papers, a computer information system and a resource network through the Center for Environmental Innovation. 

Key Objective - In order to protect human and ecosystem health, we will push for a multi-agency, cumulative impacts assessment of human exposure to toxicants through multiple pathways, in Philadelphia, Newark Bay, the Lower Hudson Valley and other target communities.

Critical Ecoregions Program: A Joint Effort of the Sierra Club and The Sierra Club Foundation.

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© 1998 Dave Smith / Sierra Club Central Appalachia Ecoregion Task Force