Last week’s announcement that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will propose carbon-pollution standards for new power plants is an important step forward for public health (“ U.S. sets rules to cut new plants' emissions,” Reuters article, Sept. 21 Dispatch).
It makes no sense to allow power plants to emit unlimited amounts of carbon pollution into the air. By proposing standards for carbon pollution from plants that will be built in the future, the EPA is setting the stage for the next generation of America’s power plants to be the least toxic and most modern in the world.
Breathing in ozone causes problems for all people, not just ones with respiratory illnesses.
It can cause wheezing and aggravate asthma attacks, sometimes requiring costly hospitalizations.
I want these limits to also be enforced on existing power plants, not just new ones. There are more than 5,000 existing power plants spewing carbon and other pollutants into our atmosphere on a daily basis. Most of these plants are fueled by coal.
A single coal-fired power plant releases an average 3.7 million tons of carbon pollution.
Now imagine the impact of our 580 existing coal-fired power plants on the next generation.
So while some have been quoted in articles as saying that these new standards won’t have much of an impact on Ohio, I beg to differ. For those who struggle to breathe each day, it will potentially make an enormous impact.
DR. JONATHAN P. PARSONS