I play in and around the French Broad River: rafting, tubing, hiking, gardening and partying. The French Broad is beautiful and brings people to enjoy our community. I am concerned that this important river is being contaminated slowly, daily and quietly by coal-ash ponds that leak poisons like arsenic, chromium and mercury into the groundwater.
I would like to see our government leaders enforce the responsible containment of toxic coal ash and protect our water. However, this is just one step in a much grander scheme. We need to move beyond the combustion of coal and towards renewable options.
Instead of dumping 100 million tons of toxic ash into our neighborhoods each year, why not take steps to move towards our renewable energy sources? Renewable energy creates new jobs and will provide our children with a future that includes clean air and water.
— Barbara Sloss
Asheville
