Environmental groups in Central Missouri are doing their utmost to protect the endangered pale sturgeon from the plume of hot water that threatens its existence. The US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has raised concerns and recommended better monitoring of the fish, which can be difficult to identify. The main source of this danger is Ameren, the largest coal power plant in Missouri, located in Franklin County. It is believed that the groundwater near the plant flows into the Missouri River and carries toxins such as arsenic and boron from coal waste to the water.
Ash ponds have been leaking for decades. Lisa Zerbe, a resident of Franklin County, has been a passionate advocate for environmental protection for years. She is part of the Interdisciplinary Environmental Clinic of the Coalition for the Environment (MCE) at Washington University in St. Louis, which is Missouri's independent citizen environmental organization that campaigns for clean water, clean air, clean energy, and a healthy environment.
Peter Goode, an environmental engineer at the University of Washington clinic, has highlighted that the DNR has disregarded USFWS worries about the type of study being done to find the fish and instead speculates in favor of Ameren about the prevalence of sturgeons in the stretch of the river near Labadie.
To support their mission, environmental groups have undertaken various fundraising efforts.
The Central Missouri Community Foundation offers challenge scholarships to ComoGives organizations that achieve specific giving metrics at the end of the campaign. Additionally, Susan supports fundraising initiatives in Colorado and the Greater Northwest and is the promotion coordinator for Sierra Club Outdoors. Kelly has spent the past decade working for two major nonprofit organizations, Yellowstone Forever and the Environmental Working Group, both devoted to building healthier lives and homes through clean energy.Small groups of interested people have also made courageous efforts to influence governments in the past, as was seen with Greenpeace's groundbreaking efforts to stop nuclear testing in Amchitka, Alaska. The Central Missouri Community Foundation is one of more than 850 such foundations in the U. S., which organizes savings accounts and provides grants to donors, non-profit organizations, and communities in central Missouri.
