Tag Archives: economy
Commonsense Environmental Rules Protect Kansas Families
Utilities serving more than 2 million Kansans have sued to block the EPA’s Cross-State rule. The power companies have threatened brownouts, rolling blackouts and targeted service interruptions to big industries. Kansans should know that in the EPA’s 40-year history, there have been no instances in which the Clean Air Act has contributed to electric grid reliability problems, and should any arise, the Clean Air Act gives us the tools to address them on a case-by-case basis. Continue reading
EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson’s Remarks to the University of Wisconsin-Madison
Since the beginning of this year, Republican leadership in the House of Representatives has orchestrated 170 votes against environmental protection. That is almost a vote for every day the chamber has been in session to undermine the Environmental Protection Agency and our nation’s environmental laws. Much of this has happened in response to myths and misleading information. Continue reading
Brand New Power Plant is Idled by the Economy
Coal-fired Spiritwood Station was built to serve electric co-ops. But it’s turned into a money drain. Continue reading
Is the EPA Really a ‘Jobs Killer’?
Industry-paid studies often include questionable assumptions and economic models not validated by broad peer review. Jobs could also be created, not just destroyed, by regulation. The EPA’s rules are required to undergo a transparent cost-benefit analysis that is peer reviewed by others. The idea that environmental regulations would wipe out an industry or have a serious impact is implausible. Early estimates of cleanup costs are invariably wildly overstated. Continue reading
We Can Clean the Air, Create Jobs and Power the Economy at the Same Time
As one of the largest electricity generators in the U.S., we believe that EPA’s air pollutant regulations should be viewed as an opportunity to modernize the nation’s electric power infrastructure. Frankly, action is long overdue. Any significant delay for these rules will only perpetuate uncertainty where clarity is needed. Continue reading
Pollution is Not the Secret to Job Creation
Peer-reviewed articles published over the last few decades have probed the relationship between environmental regulations, employment, and economic growth. Serious economic analysis says that we need more protection, not less. Exploiting the public’s deep need for job creation to promote an anti-regulatory agenda is dishonest and dangerous. Continue reading
Too Dirty to Fail? House Republicans’ Assault on our Environmental Laws Must be Stopped
No credible economist links our current economic crisis — or any economic crisis — to tough clean-air and clean-water standards. Our environment affects red states and blue states alike. It is time for House Republicans to stop politicizing our air and water. Let’s end “too dirty to fail.” Continue reading
Even Republicans Favor the EPA Rules that Republicans Are Trying to Block
The debate over upcoming EPA regulations is a perfect microcosm of contemporary U.S. politics, in all its unreality and venality. A recent national poll found – like so many polls before it – that the public overwhelmingly supports clean air protections across demographic and party lines. On a national level, this as popular as public policy gets. Continue reading
Telling the Truth About the Environment and Our Economy
Misleading claims are translating into actions that could dismantle clean air standards that protect our families from mercury, arsenic, smog and carbon dioxide. All of this is happening despite the evidence of history, despite the evidence of Congress’ own objective Research Service, and despite the need for job creation strategies that go well beyond simply undermining protections for our health, our families and our communities. Continue reading
Why Anti-Science Ideology is Bad for America
Sadly and with few brave exceptions, some politicians are active and aggressive at using false, misleading, or discredited science, or explicitly ignoring good science, in setting public policy to support ideology. History tells us this never leads to a good outcome. Continue reading
