Spirituality and Ecological Hope

Fostering Ecological Hope
Today from Margaret Swedish:

Air pollution off US eastern coast - NASA Visible Earth

New Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lisa Jackson has reversed a decree by the outgoing Bush administration, saying the EPA will once again consider regulating carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants as a form of air pollution under the Clean Air Act (see this Wash. Post article).

Keep in mind – she did not say they would start to regulate it thusly, only that they would reconsider the possibility.  The difference is crucial — but so is the decision.  The coal industry is not happy.

Should the EPA decide to regulate, the price of producing electricity from coal, the price we pay for it, would likely increase because there is no inexpensive way to do it.  New power plants must be retrofitted with the latest technology to control emissions, and the technology to capture and sequester CO2 is unproven and could very well end up posing unacceptable dangers.

What this means is that coal-powered energy would become more expensive, less cost-effective, making it more possible for clean, renewable forms of energy — wind, sun, water — to compete within energy markets.  It means that investors will now be wary of investing in new plants since future costs, and therefore returns on investment, are uncertain.  If successfully implemented, it might save some Appalachian Mountains from obliteration as incentives are created to begin weaning ourselves from both the dirty coal industry and the oxymoronic ‘clean coal’ industry as well.

Coal-fired power plant, Cheshire OH - photo, Public Justice

Again, this is not a decision to regulate, only to open up the debate once more, to open up the possibility. Remember, too, that regulation of CO 2 emissions is such a radical idea that it has the support of people like California’s Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. The Gov broke with the Bush administration in 2007 by suing for the right of California to regulate emissions by mandating a higher gas mileage standard for vehicles in his state.  Of course, it would be better to have mandatory and enforceable national standards, and now the battle is joined to implement such a regimen around the coal industry.

What can you do? Let Lisa Jackson know that you support her move, but want more — strict regulation of carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants targeted towards the rapid reduction of planet-warming greenhouse gases (contact).  Tell her you expect the U.S, the world’s largest per capita CO2 emitter, to take the lead on this. Let the Obama administration know how you feel, and then be sure to let your Senators and Representatives know as well.

A little step forward — let’s make it a big one!