Stop Those Emissions!!

The US EPA has proposed the nation's first Clean Air Act standard that will limit greenhouse gas emissions of new power plants by 50% over the life of the plant.  Currently, there are no laws that limit emissions from power plants. The proposed standard put forth by EPA, will only affect new factories built in the future.

EPA advocates that greenhouse gases are endangering Americans' health and welfare, and the environment.  Administrator Lisa Jackson says that "...health and economic threats of a changing climate continue to grow."

This is a great start to decrease human effects on the environment, but the EPA market strategy highlights economic and health concerns as reasons to push this standard, and not much focus on natural resources. But in our economic driven world, saving natural resources will have to be marketed in the terms of "economic" and "health care." Which I hate because that is the only way to grab people's attention about why protecting the earth is important, but on the other hand, it gets the job done.

Opponents of the standard say that the regulation will increase electricity costs for manufacturing and consumers.  I think this standard will actually reduce costs in the future because it decreases pollution costs.

I am welcoming and happy about this new standard, and hope that it will be effective for future conservation.

Check out the article here: http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/mar2012/2012-03-27-03.html

The Keystone power plant in Pennsylvania burns bituminous coal. (Photo by Doug Jackson)