On Mon, Oct 24, 2011 at 10:12 PM, James Kotcon
<jkotcon@wvu.edu> wrote:
Perhaps this could be used for letters to McKinley, Manchin, etc. on the
coal ash bill. Go through a half dozen EPA rules like the ash rule, the
power plant mercury rule, etc., and come up with the employment
estimates in the Federal Register notices. Then do an op/ed on "Jobs
McKinley is trying to Kill"
Whaddya Tink?
JBK
>>> Betty Wiley <betty.w304@gmail.com> 10/23/2011 9:17 PM >>>
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Robert Donnan <redchief7@verizon.net>
Date: Sat, Oct 22, 2011 at 7:56 AM
Subject: Got Kids? Grandkids? Listen up!
To: Robert Donnan <redchief7@verizon.net>
**
These critical issues probably affect our Pittsburgh region more than
any
other area in the United States. It's hard to believe that anyone
would consider unraveling all the progress we have made over the past
40
years. Bob
latimes.com Op-Ed 'Too dirty to fail'? House Republicans' assault on
our
environmental laws must be stopped.
By Lisa P. Jackson
Administrator of the U.S. EPA
October 21, 2011
Americans must once again stand up for their right to clean air and
clean
water.
Since the beginning of this year, Republicans in the House have
averaged
roughly a vote every day the chamber has been in session to undermine
the
Environmental Protection Agency and our nation's environmental laws.
They
have picked up the pace recently just last week they voted to stop
the
EPA's efforts to limit mercury and other hazardous pollutants from
cement
plants, boilers and incinerators and it appears their campaign
will
continue for the foreseeable future.
Using the economy as cover, and repeating unfounded claims that
"regulations
kill jobs," they have pushed through an unprecedented rollback of the
Clean
Air Act, the Clean Water Act and our nation's waste-disposal laws, all
of
which have successfully protected our families for decades. We all
remember
"too big to fail"; this pseudo jobs plan to protect polluters might
well be
called "too dirty to fail."
The House has voted on provisions that, if they became law, would give
big
polluters a pass in complying with the standards that more than half of
the
power plants across the country already meet. The measures would
indefinitely delay sensible upgrades to reduce air pollution from
industrial
boilers located in highly populated areas. And they would remove vital
federal water protections, exposing treasured resources such as the
Gulf of
Mexico, Lake Erie, the Chesapeake Bay and the Los Angeles River to
pollution.
How we respond to this assault on our environmental and public health
protections will mean the difference between sickness and health in
some
cases, life and death for hundreds of thousands of citizens.
This is not hyperbole. The link between health issues and pollution is
irrefutable. Mercury is a neurotoxin that affects brain development in
unborn children and young people. Lead has similar effects in our
bodies.
Soot, composed of particles smaller across than a human hair, is formed
when
fuels are burned and is a direct cause of premature death. Nitrogen
oxides
and volatile organic compounds contribute to the ozone alert days when
seniors, asthmatics and others with respiratory problems are at serious
risk
if they do nothing more dangerous than step outside and breathe the
air.
"Too dirty to fail" tries to convince Americans that they must choose
between their health and the economy, a choice that's been proved wrong
for
the four decades that the EPA has been in existence. No credible
economist
links our current economic crisis or any economic crisis to
tough
clean-air and clean-water standards.
A better approach is the president's call for federal agencies to
ensure
that regulations don't overburden American businesses. The EPA has
already
put that into effect by repealing or revising several unnecessary
rules,
while ensuring that essential health protections remain intact.
We can put Americans to work retrofitting outdated, dirty plants with
updated pollution control technology. There are about 1,100 coal-fired
units
at about 500 power plants in this country. About half of these units
are
more than 40 years old, and about three-quarters of them are more than
30
years old. Of these 1,100 units, 44% do not use pollution controls such
as
scrubbers or catalysts to limit emissions, and they pour unlimited
amounts
of mercury, lead, arsenic and acid gases into our air. Despite
requirements
in the bipartisan 1990 Clean Air Act amendments, these facilities have
largely refused to control their emissions creating an uneven
playing
field for companies who play by the rules and gaming the system at the
expense of our health.
If these plants continue to operate without pollution limits, as a
legislative wish list from House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.)
would
allow, there will be more cases of asthma, respiratory illness and
premature
deaths with no clear path to new jobs.
By contrast, the nation's first-ever standards for mercury and other
air
toxic pollutants which the EPA will finalize this fall and which
the
Republican leadership aims to block are estimated to create 31,000
short-term construction jobs and 9,000 long-term jobs in the utility
sector
through modernizing power plants. And the savings in health benefits
are
estimated to be up to $140 billion per year by 2016.
Contrary to industry lobbying, this overhaul can be accomplished
without
affecting the reliability of our power grid.
Our country has a long tradition of treating environmental and public
health
protections as nonpartisan matters. It was the case when President
Nixon
created the EPA and signed into law the historic Clean Air Act, when
President Ford signed into law the Safe Drinking Water Act and when
President George H.W. Bush oversaw important improvements to the Clean
Air
Act and enacted the trading program that dramatically reduced acid
rain
pollution.
Our environment affects red states and blue states alike. It is time
for
House Republicans to stop politicizing our air and water. Let's end
"too
dirty to fail."
*Lisa P. Jackson is the administrator of the U.S. Environmental
Protection
Agency. *
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