Mercury and coal-fired power plants

Who remembers the mercury thermometers shown in cartoons such as Bugs Bunny or Tom & Jerry that become all red and eventually explode because of the cartoon character’s high fever? How many times did our grandmother try to measure our fever with the mercury thermometers? And how many times did we get away with skipping a day of school by putting the mercury thermometer under the lamp? Good time those… however this article is not about the mercury in the thermometer but the mercury that is found in the earth’s crust and that could be potentially harmful to humans and wildlife.    

As we all might know by now, biodiversity is highly threatened and highly at risk. The amount of biodiversity around the globe is decreasing.  There are many elements that threaten biodiversity in our time and age and according to my knowledge of in this field many, if not all of the threats to biodiversity, are caused by us humans. The high level of pollution that we have created in the earth’s atmosphere has brought with it many disadvantages for humans, this including also the less assorted diversity of biodiversity. I found some interesting information about the effects of mercury produced by coal-fired plants that is harmful for the environment. Check the link out below and go to pages 6-7.

http://issuu.com/briloon/docs/2011_bri_annual_report/6?mode=a_p