I was thinking more about Fareed Zakaria's attitude about being a realist as to global warming. The same perspective is true as to dealing with coal-fired power plants. We may hate the concept, but they will not simply disappear. As much as I would like to fight the battle to close coal-fired power plants or prevent new ones from opening, I have somewhat resigned myself to the fact that these plants provide cheap and plentiful power and therefore, will continue to operate. Like Mr. Zakaria, I don't look at this attitude as giving in and putting my head in the sand. Rather, I try to focus not only on doing some letters as to the future of coal-fired power plants but also, on how to handle the current state of affairs. As many of us think about how we should be getting away from coal and moving on to alternative energy, the reality is that coal is being used, every hour of every day. Alcoa, for one, burns 19 truckloads of coal per hour and plans to burn more in the future. If we only focus on eliminating coal in the future, we are ignoring the many pollutants that are entering our environment all the time. I think we need to take a two-pronged approach, just as Mr. Zakaria notes we need to do with global warming. We need to fight against more coal use in the future and deal with the current use of coal. One major problem with coal is the mercury pollution that is contaminating our land and waterways and poisoning our fish. When people eat this fish, especially children, they can experience neurological problems and I.Q. deficiencies. In Indiana, a rule is proposed to limit mercury emissions by 66% by 2025, I believe. There is another proposed rule, that would eliminate mercury emissions by 90% in the near future. There are issues as to cost of the 90% reduction, but it appears that it would actually be quite feasible and cost-effective to make this drastic a reduction. Plus, when you are dealing with a known neurotoxin, why cut corners so much? Other states, including Illinoise, are making this leap, so I don't see why it's so hard for people in Indiana to accept. In my opinion, if people here want to stick with coal for the foreseeable future, the least they can do is agree to these control measures--even if people pay a few dollars more per month on their utility bills.