Lead killing eagles, endangering humans

Imagine this: 80 bald eagles a year (approximately) die from lead poisoning in Iowa. Each year. That would be the ones that are found, of course, since we can't count the ones that just die in the forests and are never counted.

But imagine if 80 baldies were found on one day, dead of lead poisoning. Would that be newsworthy? Would you consider that maybe, just possibly, something was amiss? Wildlife serves as the canary in the coal mine. When they are sick, we are not far behind.

I would suggest that you do your homework on lead in the environment. Your research, if done diligently, will give you something else to write about as the threat to humans from lead contamination is enormous.

And if you are among those who are diligently trying to eliminate the Environmental Protection Agency and the protections it affords, then your opinion is not worth much to those of us who would like to see this state flourish, not become the dumping ground for coal mining and its inevitable aftermath.

Patricia Haines

West Des Moines