Concerned that North Carolina’s mountains are being choked by pollution from coal-fired power plants, all 50 members in the state’s Senate have asked President Bush to clean up the smokestacks of the Tennessee Valley Authority. The senators (35 Democrats, 15 Republicans) cited the work of a scientist at North Carolina State University, which found that about 80 percent of the air pollution hovering around the Great Smokies and other mountains in the western portion of the state originates outside of North Carolina, mostly from TVA plants. The average visibility in western North Carolina has dropped from 65 miles in 1980 to 15 miles today.
