From the Reporters
Carole Matthews

Electricity, at What Cost?

 

Apparently at the cost of the environment -- and our lungs. The Bush Adminstration eased the EPA's clean air regulations yesterday to help power plants and refineries invest more in upgrading their systems, and less in controlling pollution. The new ruling would ease the anti-pollution controls, allowing industrial facilities to invest in replacing aging equipment without installing necessary pollution controls.

There's not a doubt in my mind that many of our electrical plants need desperate upgrades -- the recent blackout is a good case in point. However, it seems to me, that the Bush Administration has made just one more shortsighted decision that rewards big business at any cost.