In its heedless and myopic rush to wipe out everything good the Obama Administration ever did for American citizens, the Trump Administration targeted President Obama's Clean Power Plan, an effort to speed up the closure of antiquated, polluting, poison-chemical-and CO2-churning coal-fired power plants around the country. Its replacement is a wholly industry-written plan that does little or nothing to reduce the harmful effects of these plants both to the immediate environment, and their long term harm to the world’s climate.
It would be charitable to say that at least they are being honest about it, but the truth is more likely that no one in the Administration bothered to take the time to read it.
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Tuesday made public the details of its new pollution rules governing coal-burning power plants, and the fine print includes an acknowledgment that the plan would increase carbon emissions and lead to up to 1,400 premature deaths annually.
As Trump travels today to West Virginia to brag about how he’s making coal great again, even he is probably unaware that his plan actually spells out how many more Americans will die because of it:
Compared to the Obama-era plan, the analysis says, “implementing the proposed rule is expected to increase emissions of carbon dioxide and the level of emissions of certain pollutants in the atmosphere that adversely affect human health.”
The analysis also includes a section called “foregone” climate and human health benefits. That is, instead of listing the health gains of the Trump plan — preventing premature deaths, for example, or avoiding a certain number of increased emergency room visits from asthma attacks — it is instead describing the effect of the Trump plan as benefits lost.
The New York Times actually took the trouble of digging through the technical aspects of Trump’s plan as prepared by the EPA’s Office of Air Quality Impact and Standards. What they found was an analysis of the impact each state’s anticipated modification to the current Federal regulations—which what Trump's plan proposes-- would have on actual human health. In the “most likely” scenario pegged by the EPA, the health impact on Americans will be substantial:
In that scenario, the Trump E.P.A. predicts its plan will see between 470 and 1,400 premature deaths annually by 2030 because of increased rates of microscopic airborne particulates known as PM 2.5, which are dangerous because of their link to heart and lung disease as well as their ability to trigger chronic problems like asthma and bronchitis.
This is what happens when you turn over regulation of pollution to the polluters themselves. By contrast, according to the same study, President Obama’s plan would have avoided up to 3600 premature deaths annually.
The Obama plan would have resulted in 180,000 fewer lost days annually for kids in school, due to childhood illnesses such as bronchitis and asthma. By contrast, Trump’s plan will result in 48,000 new cases of asthma and 21000 additional days annually lost from school for these same children. Yes, the study actually says this.
In fact there is no better illustration of the difference between the Trump and Obama Presidencies than this raw data—from the Administration's own EPA. Put simply, Trump’s plan will kill Americans, while Obama’s would have saved them.
“With the Trump dirty power plan we see again that the Trump administration cares more about extending the lives of coal plants than the American people,” said Conrad Schneider, advocacy director of the Clean Air Task Force, an environmental nonprofit group.
That is an understatement. Trump’s treatment of the environment is literally toxic to Americans.
More on this here from First Amendment and Mark Sumner.