While in name Wisconsin Public Interest Research Group's \Men-Only Fish Fry"" may suggest a prejudicial agenda, the event actually aimed to protect women as the group served up walleye alongside Lake Monona Thursday.
Accompanied by State Rep. Spencer Black, D-Madison, and representatives from the Sierra Club and Clean Wisconsin, WisPIRG held the event to promote awareness concerning toxic levels of mercury in Wisconsin's waterways.
""What we worry about most is the exposure of women to mercury,"" said Dr. Monica Vohmann from the Group Health Cooperation.
Vohmann described how mercury builds up in the bodies of women over time. When women conceive children, the accumulated levels of mercury often interfere with brain development, leading to learning disabilities and cognitive disorders, she said.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, one of every six American women currently possesses enough mercury in her body to damage the brain development of any offspring she may conceive.
""Fish from lakes in Wisconsin should not be consumed,"" Vohmann recommended.
Yet Black emphasized how the source of the mercury contamination actually does not come from the water, but from the air.
""Power plants are the largest uncontrolled source of mercury that remains,"" he said. ""Wisconsin does have a rule that's going into effect to limit mercury emissions from power plants, but less than half of the sources of mercury pollution actually come from Wisconsin.""
To solve the problem of others states' pollution affecting Wisconsin, those gathered advocated for the tight enforcement of the Clean Air Act. WisPIRG and Black argued that the Bush administration had been using rule process to weaken the Clean Air Act's effectiveness.
""We don't need a new law. We need a President who will enforce the law,"" Black said.
The gathering also stressed mercury contamination as a societal problem, not just an issue for women.
""Mercury contamination hurts not only those who fish, but also those who depend on Wisconsin's economy,"" said Derek Scheer of the Sierra Club. Scheer said fishing is an important element of Wisconsin's tourism industry and as society learns of the toxic mercury levels in fish, the tourism industry will suffer.
Vohmann cited new research about mercury and the cardiovascular system. She predicted with the release of more information about mercury's widespread effects, men might soon have reason to worry too.
""The more we know about lead and mercury,"" she said, ""the more we know that even low levels are bad.""
