If the 1-in-6 African-American kids with asthma could just hold their breath until 2013, they should be fine.
In his latest attack on the environment, President Barack Obama today announced that he is directing the EPA to withdraw standardsthat would have cut smog pollution from automobiles, power plants, and refineries. Obama might want to consider that wheezing kids, no jobs, and caving to Big Oil do not a reelection make.
The standards Obama blocked could have saved up to 120,000 lives by 2020, and slashed tens of thousands of children’s asthma attacks and other respiratory problems. The environmental justice organization Green for All summed it up when it tweeted (referring to Obama’s delaying action on ozone until at least 2013, when he may be out of office):
More broadly, by blocking the smog standards, Obama is jettisoning one of the few remaining major job creation programs he can create without Congress. Notwithstanding oil industry propaganda, the EPA’s analysis shows that the smog rules would have created a whopping $17 billion in economic benefits — everything from health care savings from avoided asthma attacks to job creation in American-made pollution controls.
Obama’s decision has significant negative implications for the climate too — the ozone standards would have forced some switching away from coal and other dirty fuels to cleaner energy and a variety of conservation measures. This move will not be ignored in Beijing, New Delhi, Jakarta, and other cities looking for signals about American action on climate.
In other words, a great day for ExxonMobil, and a terrible day for America’s children and the planet
