Local Groups and Citizens Express Support for New Safeguards that Will Hold Industrial Polluters Accountable and Help Protect Nevada Communities’ Health
Nevada breathed a little easier today after the Environmental Protection Agency’s and Obama Administration’s release of a proposal to limit industrial carbon pollution from new power plants, which is essential to improve public health and protect kids in the Silver State.
“Every year, power plants dump more than two billion tons of dangerous carbon pollution and other pollutants into the air. This new standard announced by the Obama Administration and the EPA will establish the first national limits on carbon pollution from new power plants and move our nation a much-needed step forward toward protecting public health, particularly children’s health, from the harmful effects of climate change, including air pollution,” said John Elkins, a Licensed Practical Nurse who lives and works in Las Vegas with his two children. “Doctors, nurses, scientists and other health experts say that carbon pollution is particularly dangerous for children because it makes smog pollution worse, which triggers asthma attacks and permanently damages and reduces the function of children’s lungs.”
Elkins has a personal stake in the issue: His son is 5 years old and his daughter is just 1.
Nevadans are showing their support for the new carbon rules, saying the EPA is doing its job under the Clean Air Act — and holding power plants accountable for the amount of pollution they spew into the air.
“The EPA and Obama Administration stood up to the big polluters and rejected their efforts to block clean air standards,” said Scot Rutledge, executive director of the Nevada Conservation League. “Our elected representatives to Congress need to remember to put the health of our children above corporate polluters’ profits. Nevada families want the EPA to protect us from dangerous air pollution from power plants.”
In addition to strictly limiting industrial carbon pollution and protecting public health, the new standards will drive innovation in clean technologies and create green jobs here in America – and especially in Nevada, which is home to a growing industry of clean, renewable energy.
“This is a real win for Nevada. Since Nevada does not have fossil fuel resources, this will only increase demand for our vast renewable energy resources helping to further grow our clean energy economy,” said Lydia Ball, executive director of Clean Energy Project, which works with and promotes the growing renewable industry in Nevada.
The standards announced today will limit carbon pollution from new power plants. The EPA is also working to develop standards to cut carbon pollution from existing power plants, and is expected to issue a draft proposal for existing plants later this year or early next year.
