Signature needed: Clean air laws should be based on science, not politics

The Obama administration has finally proposed a long awaited and lifesaving regulation to reduce ozone, a chemical released from factories and power plants that causes smog and leads to asthma and heart disease. But the proposal is far too weak. The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed regulation would lower the threshold from 75 parts per billion to a range of 65 to 70 parts per billion. But according to health experts, a limit of 60 parts per billion is needed to protect our health.1 The EPA knows this and has been open to implementing a lower limit, but is buckling under political pressure from corporate lobbyists like like the Chamber of Commerce and the American Petroleum Institute, who are placing massive pressure on the administration to weaken it even more. Deadline March 17: Tell the EPA to protect public health and adopt a stronger ozone standard. Click here to submit a public comment. Under the Clean Air Act, the EPA is required by law to protect public health and safety by setting air standards that reflect the most up-to-date scientific and medical knowledge. The 75 parts per billion ozone regulation that is currently on the books is in clear violation of this law. That standard was set by the Bush Administration in 2008, ignoring the recommendation of the EPA’s scientific panel to set a limit of 60 to 70 parts per billion. In 2011, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson stated herself that this standard was “legally indefensible.” But efforts to change that regulation have been stalled until now. The Obama administration’s proposed ozone regulation could be one of its most important decisions for the health of Americans, saving millions of Americans from illness and countless others premature death. But we have to make sure that this new regulation sets the safest possible standard – one that is backed up by scientific knowledge and isn’t held back by right-wing politics and corporate intimidation. Deadline March 17: Tell the EPA to protect public health and adopt a stronger ozone standard. Click here to submit a public comment. Thank you for your activism. Josh Nelson, Campaign Manager CREDO Action from Working Assets Add your name: Learn more about this campaign "Health Benefits from Large-Scale Ozone Reduction in the United States" Environmental Health Perspectives, October 2012