The Great Lakes Zephyr - Wind Energy & Hydrogen Journal

Dirty Secrets Behind "Clear Skies" Plan "Clear Skies" Smokescreen: Act Now to Defend Clean Air For Life Dear Daniel, While more than 160 million Americans live in or near areas with unhealthy air, Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) has introduced an unprecedented rollback to our nation's clean air laws. The misnamed "Clear Skies" bill is a smokescreen that covers up a better, more immediate way to healthier air -- the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR). CAIR would reduce pollution from power plants, and only requires final approval from the EPA to go into effect. The utility industry is backing the harmful "Clear Skies" legislation, which would make lasting, damaging changes to the Clean Air Act. Take action for cleaner air, faster - send a message to President Bush and your U.S. senators calling on them to support immediate EPA action to finalize a strong CAIR rule. Send a letter to the following decision maker(s): President George W. Bush Your Senators Below is the sample letter: Subject: CAIR for Cleaner Air, Not "Clear Skies" Dear [decision maker name automatically inserted here], I support clean air for all Americans and call on America's political leaders to oppose the misnamed "Clear Skies" plan, which would dramatically weaken our nation's clean air laws. You can act to reduce power plant pollution by instead supporting the strongest possible Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR). A strong CAIR would help protect the 160 million Americans that live in or near areas with unhealthy air. Health problems linked to air pollution, from heart disease and early death to asthma and cancer, are a serious problem. The Clear Skies bill, sponsored by Senator James Inhofe (OK), would severely weaken clean air laws just when these laws should be strengthened, and ignores carbon dioxide, the chief pollutant causing global warming. This bill should be opposed. Instead, I believe that government leaders should focus on finalizing a strong, protective CAIR rule. With a stroke of a pen, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency could adopt strong, cost-effective pollution control standards for power plant smokestacks. If well-designed, this rule could prevent some 16,000 premature deaths and about 1 million asthma attacks in children annually without doing lasting damage to the nation's vital clean air laws. Thank you. Sincerely, Daniel Stafford Take Action! Urge your senators to support cleaner air, faster, not the misnamed "Clear Skies" bill. Send a Message What's At Stake: Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) is pushing the misnamed "Clear Skies" bill, which will do serious, lasting damage to our nation's clean air laws. "Clear Skies" would weaken Clean Air Act requirements by: - Postponing deadlines for many areas across the nation to restore healthy air; - Undermining long-standing New Source Review requirements that new and expanded power plants must install the best pollution control equipment; - Severely curbing states’ authority to protect their citizens from upwind power plant pollution. Disregards Global Warming Though power plants are a major source of global warming pollution, "Clear Skies" ignores carbon dioxide, providing no limits on the chief pollutant causing climate change and ignoring the critical issue of global warming. A Better Way to Clean Air: With the stroke of a pen, EPA can immediately finalize the pending Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR). CAIR is a cost-effective way to cut power plant smokestacks. A protective CAIR could prevent up to 16,000 premature deaths and about 1 million asthma attacks in children annually. Take Action – Send a message to President Bush and to your U.S. senators urging them to oppose Senator Inhofe's "Clear Skies" smokescreen and to direct EPA to immediately finalize a protective Clean Air Interstate Rule. If you received this message from a friend, you can sign up for Environmental Defense Action Network.