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From the Daily Grist:
A proposal to alter the New Source Review rule of the Clean Air Act
will be announced today, according to the U.S. EPA. The rule
requires companies to install state-of-the-art pollution-control
equipment when upgrading aging power plants. The utility industry
has lobbied intensely against New Source Review, saying it should
apply only to extensive, non-routine expansions that would
dramatically increase pollutants. The Bush administration proposal
is expected to promise the industry exactly what it wants: greater
flexibility to expand plants without installing expensive emissions
controls. Moreover, utilities would be allowed to use pollution
levels from any two consecutive years in the past decade to establish
an emissions baseline that would determine how much additional
pollution plants can produce before the New Source Review rule
applies. Outraged environmentalists say easing the rule will produce
millions of tons of additional pollution and amount to a rollback of
the Clean Air Act.
So- am I reading this right? Is the Bush administration about to hand the energy industry a licence to set the clock back (at least) ten years?
Doh!
This is only the latest stupidity. The EU and Japan have now ratified the Kyoto treaty, but the US refuses to. The Bush administration now recognises that climate change exists, but refuses to reduce emissions, preferring to highlight 'dirty' pollutants- the 'clear skies' policy. And even that policy is significantly watered down by this new measure.
this hit my inbox the day after the papers announced research linking the last 30 years of African drought to US and EU industrial pollution. these decisions cannot be made unilaterally if we're serious about seeing another millenium as a species.
what's a body to do? |
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