Sunday, December 03, 2017

Protecting the environment is about protecting people.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator, Scott Pruitt,  who has deep ties to the fossil fuel industry, has made repealing the Clean Power Plan a top priority since taking office.

The Clean Power Plan, the first US steps to cut carbon pollution from power plants, even by the Trump administration’s own estimates, could prevent up to 4,500 premature deaths, 1,700 heart attacks, 90,000 asthma attacks and 300,000 missed days of work or school a yearBy taking a big cut out of our fossil fuel use that is warming the planet, the plan is also the largest action ever taken by the US to address climate change.


Yet, instead of helping those suffering, the administration is doing away with rules to limit dangerous pollution, as industry insiders do everything they can to shift the blame, like falsely claiming that African-American’s increased rates of cancer from exposure to air pollution is due to genetics (something Big Tobacco did for years), rather than the fact that many also live very close to polluting power plants, 68% of Blacks and nearly 40% of Latinos. The NAACP, National Medical Association, and Clean Air Task Force just released a landmark report demonstrating, for the first time, the specific health risks from airborne pollutants caused by fossil fuel development and the elevated risk of cancer due to toxic air exposure impacting African-American communities.

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