Expert: Jay Hofmann (Trinity Consultants, Inc.) - 3/23/2008

Question
Hello.  A few years ago I was in the Dominican Republic staying in my vacation home when all our neighborhood pools got filled with a coal ash.  We came to found out this ash was coming from a nearby power plant and became startled since it was hazardous to health/lungs.  

I wrote to a couple of people and even to someon here on allexperts.  Generally I got the idea that there was nothing that can be done since the local EPA was broken. I come to find out that crimes such as these are committed all the time by foreign governments due to conflicting interests and corruption.  

To make a long story short people began to complain and it hit the media.  Later on the local EPA didn't resolve the problem but did however publicize that they did.

I have moved since and on occasion they still run that powerplant as described from time to time filling the air with a black ash.  

I heard that a group called the "Blacksmiths" work on resolving problems as these worldwide.
1.
Do you know of or can verify any similar groups or societies that work towards correction of industrial crime/environmental pollution?

2.
I imagine that these societies are politically influentual and achieve their goal via a real threat to adversely affect the foreign government economically, I ASSUME.  

Either way how can a foreign body make a foreign government bend backwards considering the EPA can't do the same?

Thanks

Answer
The are many non-governmental organizations that attempt to pressure governments all over the world to clean up industrial air pollution.  Probably the best known in the US is the Sierra Club.  See www.sierraclub.org

I know nothing about the Blacksmiths.