The EPA or Environmental Protection Agency is at a stand-off with the Trump Administration, and they’re losing. The EPA has had a strict rule on coal emissions throughout the US, further regulating the burning and emission of mercury in these plants.
Why is this important and dangerous? Mercury is very toxic, proven to damage the nervous system of children and fetuses. Trump wishes to lift a large portion of the bans placed on these emission rules, which will drastically increase damage to the environment and our society as a whole.
Robert E. Murray holds a strong position in the coal industry and is one of the reasons the Trump Administration is pushing so hard to repeal this rule against mercury. It was actually Murray who asked Trump to repeal this rule.
Brett Kavanaugh is a name you may have been hearing a lot of within the past few days. In 2014, the coal industry sued to roll back this mercury regulation and lost. Kavanaugh was actually one of the main politicians speaking against this rule during the United States Court of Appeals hearing. If Kavanaugh is appointed to a high seat in the court, there is no doubt that it will be much more likely the repeal of this mercury rule will pass, putting more money in the coal industry’s pockets, and more toxins in our families.
But what are the costs of this program? Will the coal industry really benefit that much? As a matter of fact, it’s calculated that it will. According to the New York Times article regarding this phenomenon, it would cost roughly $9.6 billion a year to incorporate this mercury mitigating technology, meaning it’s the most expensive air regulation ever implemented by the federal government. Reducing the pollution of mercury would only save $6 million in annual health benefits which is a minuscule number next to the $9.6 billion the coal industry would be saving without this rule. It was also determined by the Obama Administration that there would be an additional saving of an annual $80 billion in health benefits if you take the soot and nitrogen oxide into account with the mercury bill.
The case is not going well, the economic benefits significantly outweigh the health benefits and it’s not long until this bill is passed. When will our government prioritize the health of our people the health of the planet? When will they look at the environment before they look at the economy? If you want to help the EPA keep the mercury rule implemented, here are some petitions: Greenpeace and Sierra. Post this blog, and spread the conversation, people must recognize this as a bigger issue.
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