Wednesday the Environmental Protection Agency proposed new guidelines on mercury and other toxins that are being released by power plants. According to Lisa Jackson, an EPA Administrator, “These standards will require American power plants to put in place proven and widely available pollution technologies to control and cut harmful emissions like mercury, arsenic, chromium, nickel and acid gases.” And would cut the emissions of mercury being released from the use of coal-fired power by up to 91%.
Not only is this a major boon for the environment, but the EPA estimates that reducing these harmful emissions will lead to 17,000 fewer deaths, reduce heart attacks by up to 11,000, and knock out 10,000 cases of childhood asthma.
Ms. Jackson estimated that this regulation would cost the power industry $10 billion by 2015, but claimed the health and environmental improvements would be worth more than $100 billion a year.
Now I know I promised to reduce my swearing tendencies but this next part really, really deserves an F bomb. The EPA was asked to provide these national standards with the 1990 Clean Air Act…It took them 20 fucking years to lay down these rules, yet representatives from the power industry are complaining the EPA is moving too fast.
Oddly enough, when I think of all the preventable deaths, diseases, and damages over the course of the past twenty years the last thing on my mind is that the EPA is moving too fast on this one.
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