Sarah Alexander of Food & Water Watch, a nonprofit organization, has sent us the following message:

The Environmental Protection Agency has proposed a rule that would let factory farms get out of reporting their releases of ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, and other toxic air pollutants caused by the breakdown of animal manure in massive lagoons. We have a right to know what toxic chemicals we're being exposed to.

In her message Sarah included this quote from a recent article in the Washington Post:

Under pressure from agriculture industry lobbyists and lawmakers from agricultural states, the Environmental Protection Agency wants to drop requirements that factory farms report their emissions of toxic gases, despite findings by the agency's scientists that the gases pose a health threat.

She also included the following to illustrate the folly of the EPA’s proposal:

One giant dairy in Oregon, home to more than 50,000 cows, reported that it releases more than 15,000 pounds of toxic ammonia into the air every day. Often these reports offer the only information neighbors of these facilities get about what they are being exposed to.

Food & Water Watch is urging concerned citizens to tell the EPA that factory farms shouldn't be above the law. If you’d like to make your voice heard at the EPA go to: Food & Water Watch: Take Action

If you’d like to read the Washington Post article cited above go to: Farms May Be Exempted From Emission Rules