Not sure if you saw this, but this is an important public opinion poll done for the American Lung association. Significant majorities support EPA's proposed new greenhouse gas rules, and even larger majorities support mercury and air toxics rules. Most people view these as health rules, and we need to keep emphasizing that aspect as we talk about the rules.

Ohio and PA voters were surveyed separately, and even these coal-friendly states support EPA rules.

JBK

>>> Public News Service <wvns@newsservice.org> 4/4/2012 4:29 AM >>>

Are EPA Coal Plant Rules what the Public Wants?
Public News Service-WV
http://www.publicnewsservice.org/index.php?/content/article/25687-1
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(04/04/12) CHARLESTON, W.Va. - The Environmental Protection Agency's new rules to protect Americans from carbon pollution emitted by new coal plants are getting a chilly reception from some in West Virginia. Sen. Joe Manchin has criticized them, and Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin is calling on the public to object to them. However, a new bipartisan survey finds tougher air-pollution standards are exactly what American voters want.

The results show that 72 percent agree with the EPA's new carbon-pollution limits, according to Peter Iwanowicz, assistant vice president of the American Lung Association, which commissioned the survey.

"EPA has taken this step to address carbon pollution from power plants but, as we saw in our poll, the public expects EPA to do more when it comes to dealing with power-plant emissions and other pollution problems."

Iwanowicz says the survey also found that a 2-to-1 majority believes these first-ever limits will create jobs rather than destroy them, by encouraging innovation. Opponents argue the measures will raise electricity prices and slow the coal industry.

The public sees this as a health issue, Iwanowicz says, adding that that's the right way to look at it.

"With carbon pollution or any pollution from power plants, it's simple: Power-plant pollution kills, and it makes people sick. So for us, enforcing these clean-air protections are going to improve public health."

He says the combination of pollution and raising the air temperature, which carbon dioxide does, leads to more smog - which can be deadly.

"For people with asthma, especially children, smog triggers asthma attacks. For seniors with chronic lung disease, their symptoms are worse when smog levels are high. More people are hospitalized for respiratory ailments during levels with high smog than otherwise. It's a serious public health threat that needs to be addressed."

Survey results are online at lung.org.

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