WASHINGTON, DC– EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced today a proposal to repeal two major environmental rules that had been enacted to limit toxic pollution from coal and gas power plants. These actions, Moms Clean Air Force declares, are “ugly,” “cruel,” and “unpatriotic,” based on “fictitious claims,” and will “make our air filthy and toxic—piling on to this Administration’s ballooning record of flagrant disregard” for protecting people’s health.
In response, Moms Clean Air Force Director Dominique Browning released the following statement:
“Today’s actions by the Trump Administration and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Zeldin concerning the proposed elimination of the Carbon Pollution Standards and the proposed repeal of the modernization of the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards are a reckless betrayal of EPA’s mission to protect human health and the environment. Rolling back these protections is ugly and unpatriotic and would make our air filthy and toxic, piling on to this administration’s ballooning record of flagrant disregard for protecting people’s health. The impacts on our children’s health will be especially cruel. America can do better. We have done better and we must continue to do better.”
“The proposed elimination of the Carbon Pollution Standards is based on a fictitious and cynical claim by this administration that power plants are not a significant form of climate pollution. This is blatantly false. In fact, if the U.S. power sector were a country unto itself, it would be the sixth largest emitter of planet heating greenhouse gases in the world.”
“Further, Zeldin claims that these two proposed rollbacks will save American taxpayers over a billion dollars in regulatory costs. What these rollbacks will actually do is cost American taxpayers billions in increased health care charges for all the diseases and illnesses that they will cause.”
“Moreover, this is a cynical – and dangerous – attempt to stop the remarkable progress America has made in cleaning up climate and air pollution. It is also based on another falsehood: the energy emergency. There is no energy emergency. There is a climate emergency that is growing more severe. Every year of these political shenanigans is a year wasted, a year we will never get back, as the dangers grow exponentially worse.”
“Every family in the U.S. is already feeling the impacts of global warming, a direct result of the massive build-up of greenhouse gases from coal and gas-fired power plants and other sources. We are already struggling with catastrophic wildfires that no longer have a season. We are already grieving summers too hot and too smoky for children to play safely outdoors. We are already stunned by the devastation of hurricanes and floods that grow more intense each year, destroying homes, businesses, and lives. It is unimaginable that we would look away from our responsibility to act. It is inconceivable that we wouldn’t try to prevent every fraction of a degree of warming that we can.”
“The proposal to repeal the recently strengthened Mercury and Air Toxics Standards would allow coal plants to emit more toxic heavy metals like mercury, chromium, and lead—pollutants that contaminate our air, fall into our lakes and waterways, and adulterate our food supply. Mercury is a dangerous neurotoxin that damages babies’ and children’s developing brains: no amount of it is safe, which is why doctors recommend limiting fish intake during pregnancy. Why would Zeldin want to harm babies and children in such a devastating and potentially deadly manner?”
“The EPA rollbacks cannot happen with the stroke of a Sharpie. We will fight these proposed rollbacks every step of the way, just as we fought to win these protections in the first place. It is the patriotic thing to do. The moral thing to do. The smart thing to do. And the loving thing to do —for all our children. “
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(Editor’s Note: Dominique Browning is available for interviews. To make arrangements, please contact momscleanairforce@dkcnews.com or call Bruce Bobbins, 908.586.5742 or Sarah McBride, 774.328.7657).