The citizens of Boulder have an important opportunity next Tuesday at the Valmont Coal Plant air pollution permit renewal Public Hearing at 6 pm at the Boulder County Courthouse.

The Valmont coal-fired power plant on 63^rd Street annually emits hundreds of pounds of heavy metals such as mercury, lead, and arsenic, not to mention millions of tons of carbon dioxide and other toxins and particulates. This has earned Boulder the American Lung Association’s air quality grade of “F,” even worse than Denver!

We breathe these emissions, resulting in increased incidence of asthma, allergies, developmental delays, and neurological disorders. Escaping carbon dioxide joins other green house gases in creating the too-warm blanket around the Earth that is threatening our quality of life.

Should we allow the Colorado Air Pollution Control Division to pass its problems on to the next generation by renewing the Valmont air pollution permit? Should we let young future mothers and our land and water passively accumulate dangerous levels of mercury until 2012 when control standards are expected to become tougher? Should we tolerate high levels of unregulated CO2 emission even though it has been determined to be hazardous to our health by the EPA? Should we continue to pump carbon dioxide into the air while waiting for the carbon-tax hammer to fall?

Boulder could take this opportunity to say “no!” it is not acceptable to renew the air pollution permit. We could support wise spending to stop burning dirty coal, increase burning of cleaner fuels (e.g. natural gas), and take advantage of existing electricity transmission by adding on-site renewable concentrating solar power that will never require a carbon tax. We could be leaders for the rest of the country and the world. We need to make OUR voices heard about OUR air quality on Tuesday!