WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday proposed the first national standard for emissions of mercury and other pollutants from coal-burning power plants, a rule that could lead to the early closing of a number of older plants and one that is certain to be challenged by the some utilities and Republicans in Congress…
Lisa P. Jackson, the agency’s administrator, said control of dozens of poisonous substances emitted by power plants was long overdue and would prevent thousands of deaths and tens of thousands of cases of disease a year.
Ms. Jackson pointedly included the head of the American Lung Association and two prominent doctors in her announcement to make the point that the regulations were designed to protect public health and not to penalize the utility industry.
Public health advocates said utilities had delayed the rules for more than two decades with court challenges and lobbying campaigns.
“If you think it’s expensive to put a scrubber on a smokestack, you should see how much it costs to treat a child over a lifetime with a birth defect,” said Dr. O. Marion Burton, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, who stood with Ms. Jackson in announcing the rule.
Oddly, when the story first ran, it included an account of how Ms. Jackson invited a group of second graders from a nearby elementary school to the announcement. Earlier today, Mar. 17, it was edited out. Was it Broder and Rudolf, or the Times? Are children not newsworthy?
“She invited a group of second graders from a nearby elementary school to attend the rule’s unveiling at her agency.”
I found a mention of it in a cached Google listing in 2011 but is no longer available.
Why did the Times delete it? The article as it first appears will always be located here. (PDF). The Google cache will expire as soon as you read this. See for yourself, read between the lines.
Editor’s Note: Years later (27 Jul 2023) I have read that Lisa Jackson used an email alias.
See also: Timothy Gardner. UPDATE 2-US lawmakers press EPA chief on ‘Windsor’ email alias. 13 Dec 2012. Reuters.
* EPA’s Jackson used email alias named after family dog
* Republicans want EPA to answer questions by Dec. 21
* EPA: chiefs have used 2nd accounts for more than 10 yrs
* EPA: records from 2 accounts provided to FOIA requesters
The trove of emails in a FOIA request is on the EPA site here (see page 35):
https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2014-01/documents/second-release-part-p.pdf
The original article reprinted by Mother Nature Network is from EarthJustice:
Sam Edmondson. Toxic Air’s Toll: Thousands of Preventable Deaths. 18 Mar 2011.
The New York Times Green blog has a good post today that spells out in no uncertain terms the cost of delaying health standards for coal plants’ toxic air pollution: thousands of preventable deaths.
Earlier this week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency took the historic action of proposing these long-overdue health standards, which are expected to save as many as 17,000 lives every year. In the Times post, John Bachmann, a former director for science and policy in the EPA’s air quality division is quoted thus: “This could have been done 20 years ago. These delays, as they’ve mounted up, have had a cost in people dying sooner. And it’s not trivial.”
The Times post provides some interesting history, including the failed attempt by the Bush administration to remove coal plants from the list of hazardous air polluters and institute an industry-favored mercury trading program. Coal plants are the nation’s worst emitters of toxic air pollutants such as mercury, acid gases, and arsenic. That they will finally be subject to health protections afforded by the Clean Air Act is a very good thing indeed.
Earthjustice played an integral role in overturning the Bush administration’s illegal mercury scheme and helped secure the court-ordered deadline that led to the EPA’s proposal on Wednesday. Now begins the important work of supporting strong health protections against coal plants’ toxic air emissions. The public’s voice is instrumental in this process, so I encourage you to join our Right to Breathe campaign and stay tuned for more ways you can help.
Sam Edmondson. Toxic Air’s Toll: Thousands of Preventable Deaths. 18 Mar 2011.
(Neil Zusman, 2011-03-17).
See: WolfeNotes | On the Threshold of a Fracking Nightmare
See: Big Polluters Freed from Environmental Oversight by Stimulus – The Center for Public Integrity
See: Lisa P. Jackson, EPA (lisapjackson) on Twitter
See: Under the surface : fracking, fortunes and the fate of the Marcellus Shale
