Page 3 - aruba-today-20190620

A3
U.S. NEWS Thursday 20 June 2019

EPA able energy ... so we need McCarthy said Trump of-
Continued from Front coal," declared Rep. David ficials had "made painfully
But one state, New York, McKinley, a West Virginia clear that they are inca-
immediately said it would Republican. pable of rising to the chal-
go to court to challenge But rather than a sensible lenge and tackling this
the action, and more law- economic move, House crisis. They have shown a
suits are likely. Speaker Nancy Pelosi de- callous disregard for EPA's
The EPA move follows scribed the change as a mission, a pattern of cli-
pledges by candidate "dirty power scam" and "a mate science denial and
and then President Don- stunning giveaway to big an inexcusable indiffer-
ald Trump to rescue the polluters." She called cli- ence to the consequences
U.S. coal industry, which mate change "the existen- of climate change."
saw near-record numbers tial threat of our time" and Burning of fossil fuels for
of plant closings last year said the administration was electricity, transportation
in the face of competition ignoring scientific studies and heat is the main hu-
from cheaper natural gas and yielding to special in- man source of heat-trap- Deputy Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette, left, Acting White
and renewables. It's the lat- terests. ping carbon emissions. Ad- House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, and Chairman of the Coun-
est and one of the biggest Obama's 2015 Clean Pow- ministration officials argue cil on Environmental Quality (CEQ) Mary B. Neumayr, stand as
of dozens of environmental er Plan is currently stayed climate science is imper- EPA administrator Andrew Wheeler looks up after signing the Af-
regulatory rollbacks by his by the Supreme Court fect, and that it's not clear fordable Clean Energy Rule during a media availability at the
administration. while challenges play out climate change would Environmental Protection Agency, Wednesday, June 19, 2019,
It came despite scientists' from more than two dozen have as great an impact in Washington. Associated Press
cautions that the world states that contend it ex- as forecast.q
must cut fossil fuel emis- ceeded authority under
sions to stave off the worst the federal Clean Air Act.
of global warming and the Environmental advocates
EPA's own analysis that the and Obama-era EPA of-
new rule would result in the ficials involved in drafting
deaths of an extra 300 to the now-repealed plan said
1,500 people each year Trump's replacement rule
by 2030 compared to the will do little to cut climate-
never fully enacted Clean damaging emissions from
Power Plan, owing to addi- coal-fired power plants,
tional air pollution from the at a time when polls show
power grid. Americans are increasingly
"Americans want reliable paying attention to global
energy that they can af- warming.
ford," Wheeler declared at "I can't think of a single rule
the signing ceremony, with that would do more to set
White House chief of staff back the effort to do what
Mick Mulvaney alongside we need to do to address
to underscore Trump's ap- the critical threat of cli-
proval. mate change," said Joe
There's no denying "fossil Goffman, who helped draft
fuels will continue to be an the repealed Clean Power
important part of the mix," Plan.
Wheeler said. The Obama plan aimed at
Lawmakers and industry encouraging what already
representatives from coal had been market-driven
states blamed federal changes in the nation's
regulation, not the market, electrical grid, pushing
for the decadeslong trend coal-fired power plants out
of declining U.S. coal use and prodding utilities to rely
and said Wednesday's act more on natural gas, solar,
would stave off more coal wind and other lower- or
plant closings. no-carbon fuels.
"We're not ready for renew- Obama EPA head Gina