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Clean Power Plan

Energy plan rollback: More illnesses, disasters possible, experts say

Doyle Rice
USA TODAY
Smokestack emissions are seen at the Jeffery Energy Center coal power plant near Emmitt, Kan., in 2009.

The American public could take a direct hit under a rollback of the Clean Power Plan, environmental groups say, from an increase in illnesses to an uptick in natural disasters.

An executive order signed by President Trump on Tuesday mandates a review of the plan, which restricts greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fired power plants and was the centerpiece of President Obama's environmental efforts.

“This is an all-out assault on the protections we need to avert climate catastrophe," said Rhea Suh, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council. "It’s a senseless betrayal of our national interests." 

The consequences of climate change have reverberated in recent years — from floods to wildfires to drought, said economist Rachel Cleetus of the Union of Concerned Scientists. Without protections from the Clean Power plan, it will only get worse, she said. "American families are seeing the real impacts of climate change on their daily lives. ... The science is clear."

Energy independence, not climate change, becomes priority under Trump order

The Clean Power Plan — as proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency under Obama in 2014 — was aimed at combating global warming. The plan set standards for coal-fired power plants and goals for states to cut their greenhouse gas emissions such as carbon dioxide and methane.

Burning fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas has caused global temperatures to rise to levels over the past several decades that scientists say cannot be explained by natural cycles. Though the plan was primarily aimed at reducing carbon dioxide and methane emissions — which are invisible and odorless and don't necessarily harm human health directly— it also served to reduce the more traditional air pollution that's associated with burning coal.

"Anyone who values wildlife, clean air and clean water will be hurt by this plan to let dirty companies pollute our climate and exploit our beautiful public lands,” said Kierán Suckling, executive director of the Center for Biological Diversity.

Trump's order attempts to roll back Obama-era policies on power plant emissions limits, coal mining on federal lands and regulations on fracking and methane.

Here are 10 Obama environmental policies Trump wants to scrap

Trump, in a signing ceremony at the Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday, proclaimed the order as "the start of a new era of American energy production" that would "restore economic freedom and allow our workers to thrive, compete and succeed on a level playing field for the first time in a long time."

Margie Alt, the executive director of Environment America, said that "defunding science, undercutting clean energy, and doubling down on fossil fuels is sheer, reckless folly.”

For environmentalists, health issues are another concern. Pollution from coal-fired plants causes widespread respiratory and cardiovascular problems, Cleetus said. The plan was expected to annually prevent 3,600 premature deaths, 1,700 heart attacks, 90,000 asthma attacks and 300,000 missed work days and school days, according to the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF).

"Americans are paying for these impacts, not the coal industry," she said. "This is already something that American families are dealing with."

Vickie Patton, general counsel at EDF, says the rollback is a concern on many levels. "If the dangerous attack on these clean air safeguards is successful, it would mean more pollution and more disease for our families, and higher costs on our electricity bills as we miss vital opportunities for cleaner more efficient and more affordable electricity," she said.

As for bringing back coal jobs and the coal industry, Cleetus said that ship has sailed: "Market factors are leading to a transition away from coal," she said. "Trump's plan does nothing for coal miners or coal communities."

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