{"id":8725,"date":"2014-11-12T13:59:05","date_gmt":"2014-11-12T19:59:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/?p=8725"},"modified":"2014-11-12T14:04:22","modified_gmt":"2014-11-12T20:04:22","slug":"history-101-pollution-rules-good-for-economy-and-pocketbooks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2014\/11\/12\/history-101-pollution-rules-good-for-economy-and-pocketbooks\/","title":{"rendered":"History 101: Pollution Rules Good for Economy and Pocketbooks"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"money_378x235\"<\/a>So our political landscape is morphing yet again, and the future looks uncertain. But there are some things we know will happen over and over, like rituals.<\/p>\n

We know that next time it snows, someone will make a tired joke about how global warming must be over. And next time the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency unveils another plan to reduce air pollution<\/a>\u00a0and protect public health, opponents will claim it\u2019ll cost a fortune and ruin our economy.<\/p>\n

I’m sure they’re now trying to sell a recent\u00a0study<\/a>\u00a0claiming that EPA\u2019s plan to cut carbon dioxide emissions from power plants will hit consumers, when the best available data points to\u00a0the complete\u00a0opposite<\/a>.<\/p>\n

History shows that opponents of environmental regulations consistently miss the mark on costs.<\/p>\n

Economic benefits of clean air offset costs, by far<\/b><\/p>\n

The benefits of the Clean Air Act and its amendments, which have been around since 1970 and 1990, have outweighed costs\u00a030 to 1<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In fact, EPA estimates that in 2020, the Clean Air Act amendments will prevent 230,000 early deaths. The monetized benefits are expected to approach $2 trillion by 2020.<\/p>\n

And still, when the amendments were first enacted, opponents claimed they would be financially ruinous. They said the same thing about efforts to limit acid rain pollution.<\/p>\n

When in reality, we achieved the Acid Rain Program reductions in less time, and for less money, than anyone expected.<\/p>\n

As states implement the Clean Power Plan, look for environmental regulations to prove themselves cost-effective once again. Early benefit-cost analyses of the plan show\u00a0net benefits<\/a>\u00a0(benefits minus costs) of almost $70 billion annually by 2030.<\/p>\n

Smart energy choices pay off<\/b><\/p>\n

There\u2019s also plenty of evidence that EPA is not the reason for the coal industry\u2019s decline, or for the economic struggle in coal-producing states. The real story is that coal is\u00a0losing to cheaper natural gas<\/a>\u00a0in the marketplace.<\/p>\n

Clean energy sources and energy conservation are also emerging forces<\/a>\u00a0in what used to be coal\u2019s monopoly market \u2013 and they\u2019re providing benefits for both our wallets and our lungs. Between 2008 and 2013, savings from utilities’ energy efficiency programs rose 116 percent, and power from renewables more than doubled.<\/p>\n

But the best argument against the \u201csky-is-falling\u201d frenzy is to look at the alternative.<\/p>\n

Right now, the United States has no national limits on carbon pollution from power plants.[Tweet “We can afford @EPA’s Clean Power Plan. In fact, we can\u2019t afford a future without it. http:\/\/ow.ly\/EbjSo via @EDFEnergyEX “]<\/p>\n

Climate change is expensive<\/b><\/p>\n

Carbon pollution is the main underlying cause of climate change, and power plants are America\u2019s single biggest source of carbon pollution. Climate change is\u00a0already costing us<\/a>, and will cost a lot more in the future.<\/p>\n

The latest\u00a0IPCC report<\/a>\u00a0lists some of the many ways that climate change puts humanity at risk\u00a0\u2013\u00a0through heat stress, storms and extreme\u00a0precipitation, inland and coastal flooding, landslides, air pollution, drought, water scarcity, sea-level rise, storm surges, and threatened food supplies.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0National Climate Assessment<\/a>\u00a0says \u201cclimate change threatens human health and well-being.\u201d The\u00a0Pentagon<\/a>, meanwhile, calls climate change a \u201cthreat multiplier\u201d that will affect national security.<\/p>\n

Continuing to allow unlimited carbon pollution is the expensive and irresponsible option.<\/p>\n

Time to act<\/b><\/p>\n

The Clean Power Plan will set the\u00a0first-ever national limits<\/a>\u00a0on carbon pollution from power plants. It will protect public health and the environment, and help us avoid the worst damage from climate change \u2013 and it will do so without costing anywhere near what opponents are claiming it will.<\/p>\n

In fact, EPA estimates that\u00a0by 2030, when the Clean Power Plan is fully implemented,\u00a0electricity bills will be about 8 percent lower than\u00a0they\u00a0would have been otherwise. That would save Americans about $8 on an average monthly residential electricity bill.<\/p>\n

So we can afford the Clean Power Plan. In fact, we can\u2019t afford a future without it.<\/p>\n

Photo source: Flickr\/Ervins Strauhmanis<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

This post originally appeared on our EDF Voices blog<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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