NORTHEAST KINGDOM – Governor Peter Shumlin is continuing his work on bettering the environment in the Green Mountain State. On Tuesday, Shumlin spoke at the state house continuing his push to divest from coal and other fossil fuels.
“Vermont should not be in the business of owning coal stocks,” he said during his address.
Shumlin’s administration has been working for years to help make Vermont more accommodating for renewable energy, such as wind and solar power. In addition to air pollution, exhaust and runoff from fossil fuels can travel into waterways like the Connecticut River and taint the natural habitat of thousands of species.
Fish and Wildlife officials like Eric Palmer are standing by what Shumlin is saying. Leftovers from these fuels can actually increase the levels of mercury in rivers, ponds and lakes.
“The mercury that is already there becomes methylated. It becomes a form [of mercury] where fish can absorb it more easily,” Palmer said.
Methylation is a chemical change where heavy metals such as lead and mercury can become water-soluble. Once dissolved in water, the toxins are brought into the fishes’ bloodstream.
While that sounds like bad news for fisherman, Palmer says the small amount of the element found in fish, even in waters with a higher percentage of mercury, is safe to eat.
“The location in the Northeast Kingdom where that’s been known to happen is the large reservoirs in the Connecticut River Valley,” said Palmer.
Although the local waters may not be the purest, fish are completely safe to eat.