The Washington Post reported today that with very little fanfare, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has rewritten a section of the Clean Air Act which will make it easier to build power plants near national parks and wilderness areas.
The rewriting affects Class 1 areas, the highest level of protection afforded parks and wilderness (short of the Witness Protection Program, but it’s really really hard to hide a forest). The change is policy is subtle, but the effects substantial. Basically, the policy now is to not allow pollution levels to ever go over a certain mark, even in short spikes. The new policy would afford, you know, the ability to pollute more, and more often. It acts like a cap and trade program, except the pollution is trading with itself. Confused? Let’s let the pros discuss:
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