It is outrageous that the chairman of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Bryan Shaw, would gloat over a federal court ruling that will mean dirtier air, more asthma and heart attacks and premature deaths for Texans and other Americans. (See: "Ruling Against EPA Saves Texas Jobs," Sept. 4)
In Texas alone, the health standards that the appeals court in Washington, D.C., overturned would have saved up to 1,700 lives each year, while greatly reducing how many Texas children must be rushed to the emergency room with asthma attacks. Nationwide, the rule would have saved up to 34,000 lives.The safeguards would have cut power plant pollution in 17 other states whose air pollution crosses into Texas and harms our families. Finally, the standards would have delivered up to $14 billion in health benefits for Texans every year. In this economy, it is no victory to lose out on $14 billion in health savings. Left unaddressed in Shaw's celebration of retreat and inaction is the sorry state of air pollution in Texas and the state's numerous uncontrolled or poorly controlled electric power plants.In 2011, Texas had the second-highest levels of smog and soot pollution from power plants in the U.S., more than half a million tons. Seventeen of Texas' most heavily populated counties received grades of either D or F from the American Lung Association for unhealthy levels of smog and soot pollution. Fewer than 15 percent of Texas' coal plants have modern pollution-control equipment. Toxics are a problem, too. Six of the nation's 10 worst mercury-polluting coal plants are in Texas, with Energy Future Holdings' Big Brown the worst of all with more than 1,600 pounds in 2010.What about the electricity prices that Shaw claims will rise? When fully implemented, the clean air standards were projected to raise electricity prices by only one-tenth of one cent in Texas in the year 2020. We can't afford to do without the health improvements that cleaner air would bring.The court's sharply divided, badly reasoned opinion deserves to be reversed. This will deliver needed air pollution reductions to Texans that TCEQ has been unwilling to provide.Karen Hadden is executive director of the Sustainable Energy and Economic Development (SEED) Coalition in Austin. Tolbert Greenwood of Fort Worth is a member of the executive committee of the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club.Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
