We Must Stop Pollution
The new rules to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases responsible for global warming are destined to revolutionize the energy industry, as long as they can withstand an avalanche of opposition only comparable to the antagonism created by the backlash against Obamacare. Once again, the debate pits economic welfare against pollution reduction, as if they were incompatible.
The regulation has been in the works for many years. It basically demands that power plants replace coal, the main producer of the carbon dioxide that causes the greenhouse effect – and eventually natural gas -, with renewable sources like solar and wind.
The new plan of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been well received, especially in the poorest communities and the areas where minorities live. It is precisely in those neighborhoods where the most polluting power plants are situated. Their impact, as many studies have shown, is harmful for the residents’ health, as well as for climate change in general.
It is shameful that this measure is being met with a furious opposition by the Republicans and the industry, which will have to face additional costs to change its energy-producing model. The scientific analysis about the severity of climate change and the need to act immediately to gradually reduce this kind of pollution, is categorical.
The options are few, unless you resort to deny the evidence about climate, as have done several Republican presidential candidates who, when asked about climate change, avoid the question by saying: “I’m not a scientist.” The other tactic is to say that the new rule will cause an economic disaster, with unemployment and high energy costs for the consumer.
As with Obamacare, from the GOP Senate bench there are calls for the states to ignore the rule and not to make any plan about it, as dozens of states with Republican governors rush to fight it in the courts. Having to choose between pollution and economic ruin is a fallacy. EPA’s plan demands the courage to confront global warming, instead of burying our heads in the sand and doing nothing to solve the problem.
