[Chicago] Fwd: [Signers] Boycott British Petroleum: Lake Michigan Polluter

[Jo Marie]

Dear Chicago BPF,
Below is an alert from Citizens for Lake Safety regarding toxic 
dumping in Lake Michigan....


>To: signers at citizensforlakesafety.org
>From: Marcia Bernsten <marcia at citizensforlakesafety.org>
>Date: Mon, 23 Jul 2007 15:18:22 -0500
>
>Last fall, you helped keep the Coast Guard from establishing 
>live-fire zones and dumping lead in the Great Lakes. Your help in 
>keeping pollution out of the lakes is needed again.
>
>BP (British Petroleum) has recently received approval from the 
>Indiana Department of Environmental Management and the U.S. 
>Environmental Protection Agency to increase its dumping of ammonia 
>into Lake Michigan by more than 50 percent. This would put more than 
>1400 additional pounds of ammonia into the lake each day, on top of 
>what BP dumps already. Also, BP would be allowed to dump large 
>amounts of toxic sludge into the lake every day.
>
>This new dumping would seriously harm the lake ecosystem and would 
>degrade the quality of the drinking water supply that more than 
>eight million people rely on. Ammonia is a nutrient for algae, so an 
>increase in ammonia will create algae blooms that choke off the 
>oxygen that the fish in the lake need to survive.
>
>The additional dumping would be done at BP's one-hundred-year old 
>oil refinery just over the border from Chicago in Whiting, Indiana. 
>BP is expanding its capacity at that refinery, and it doesn't want 
>to spend a relatively small amount of money to clean up its 
>discharge. It could clean the discharge. The technology is available 
>and proven. It just doesn't want to bother.
>
>We urge you and your friends to support a boycott of BP
><http://www.ilcpj.org/boycotts/sign.php?bid=2#form>http://www.ilcpj.org/boycotts/sign.php?bid=2#form 
>
>until they agree not to increase their pollution of the lake. Please 
>sign online to show your support of the boycott and forward this 
>message to your friends. Phone your elected officials and tell them 
>you want them to keep our drinking water clean and safe. Contact 
>environmental organizations such as Sierra Club, Alliance for the 
>Great Lakes, and others that you know, and urge them to make this a 
>priority issue.
>
>We need to act quickly. This is the first time in 40 years that 
>anyone has gotten an exemption from regulations that protect Lake 
>Michigan water. We cannot let this stand. We had an impact before, 
>and we can do it again.
>
>Citizens For Lake Safety
>
>Please show your support for the boycott
><http://www.ilcpj.org/boycotts/sign.php?bid=2#form>http://www.ilcpj.org/boycotts/sign.php?bid=2#form
>and forward this email to your family and friends.
>
>******
>BP - not Beyond Polluting
>
>BP (British Petroleum) has recently received approval from the 
>Indiana Department of Environmental Management and the U.S. 
>Environmental Protection Agency to increase its dumping of ammonia 
>into Lake Michigan by more than 50 percent. This would put more than 
>1400 additional pounds of ammonia into the lake each day, on top of 
>what BP dumps already. Also, BP would be allowed to dump large 
>amounts of toxic sludge into the lake every day. This is the first 
>time in 40 years that any corporation has gotten an exemption from 
>regulations that protect Lake Michigan water. (BP is also seeking a 
>variance to permit an increase in the plant's emissions that 
>contribute to air pollution)
>
>Boycott
>I support a boycott of BP (British Petroleum) gasoline products 
>because I oppose BP's plans to dump ammonia and toxic sludge in Lake 
>Michigan as part of the expansion of the BP refinery in Whiting, 
>Indiana. The boycott will be withdrawn when BP drops its pollution 
>plan and agrees not to increase the level of water or air pollution 
>caused by the Whiting refinery.
>
><http://www.ilcpj.org/boycotts/sign.php?bid=2#form>http://www.ilcpj.org/boycotts/sign.php?bid=2#form
>_______________________________________________
>This email has been sent to you because you requested updates from 
>Citizens for Lake Safety.  To unsubscribe please email 
>marcia at citizensforlakesafety.org with your request. Or email 
>signers-leave at lists.citizensforlakesafety.org
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