Clean Air, Healthy Families
New carbon pollution standards will help protect Pennsylvanians’ health. The coal industry and many utilities are trying to block these standards, but we’re urging the EPA to move forward with commonsense standards to help protect our health and our environment.
Carbon pollution threatens our health
Carbon pollution spewing from power plants threatens Pennsylvanians’ health. Doctors, nurses and scientists warn that it fuels global warming, which triggers poor air quality that makes it harder for children to breathe and contributes to thousands of asthma attacks, heart attacks and other fatal diseases.
Studies show that 836,880 Pennsylvania adults and 228,593 children already suffer from asthma. Nationwide, smog pollution alone leads to roughly 4,700 premature deaths and 19,000 emergency room visits. Allowing power plants to continue emitting unlimited amounts of carbon pollution will mean more global warming and dirtier air for Pennsylvanians.
Scientists also warn that global warming is expected to lead to more devastating floods, deadly heat waves and many other threats.
Coal-fired power plants need to be cleaned up
Coal-fired power plants are the largest single source of carbon pollution, yet they currently lack any federal limits on their carbon emissions. And Pennsylvania’s power plants are a big part of the problem, emitting more carbon pollution than power plants in all but four other states.
But big utilities like GenOn, which have been allowed for decades to spew unlimited amounts of carbon pollution into our air, all while taking in enormous government subsidies, are sure to fight for more of the same. They’ll join with the coal companies and spend millions on lobbying advertising to try and get off the hook for cutting carbon pollution from their dirty power plants.
With your help, we can make history
Enough is enough, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency agrees. Despite these powerful industry naysayers, the EPA is developing the first-ever carbon pollution standards for new power plants.
Now comes the hard part—getting these standards across the finish line and overcoming the corporate polluters’ opposition. So we’re working closely with our allies in the public health community, working to rally tens of thousands of activists to stand up for public health and our environment.
It won’t be easy, but if enough of us speak out, we can drown out the coal industry lobbyists and make sure EPA is allowed to do its job and protect public health.
Key Facts
- In Pennsylvania, 836,880 adults and 228,593 children suffer from asthma.
- Nationwide, smog pollution alone leads to roughly 4,700 premature deaths and 19,000 emergency room visits.
- Scientists warn that global warming—fueled by carbon pollution—will increase temperatures and make smog pollution even worse in Pennsylvania and nationwide.
- Coal-fired power plants are the largest single source of carbon pollution in the United States, yet these facilities lack any federal limits on their carbon emissions.