A new study shows that air quality in the United States suffered between 2016 and 2018, after seven straight years of improvement starting during the first years of Barack Obama's administration.
The rise in pollution— which data shows started in 2016, just before Donald Trump took office and after years of economic recovery in the United States — has led to thousands of premature deaths across the country, according to the economists from Carnegie Mellon University who studied Environmental Protection Agency data from those time periods.
“That increase was associated with 9,700 premature deaths in 2018,” wrote Karen Clay and Nicholas Muller in a new paper detailing their research.
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The researchers determined that the deaths had a heavy economic toll, in addition to the obvious human loss: around $89 billion in damages, they say.
The causes of the rise in particulate matter comes from a variety of sources, the researchers said, including a strong US economy, the burning of wildfires in parched areas of the country, and the destruction of American environmental protection rules, which Donald Trump’s administration has pursued vigorously.
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When it comes to the economy, a major culprit of pollution has been the increased use of trucks to transport goods, the researchers said, leading to increased burning of dirty fossil fuels.
“The chemical composition of particulates point to increased use of natural gas and to vehicle miles travelled as likely contributors to the increase” in pollution, they wrote. “We conclude that the effect is due to diesel vehicles as well as some industrial boilers.”
The rise in wildfires was marked beginning in 2016, especially in California, where devastating blazes have occurred very close to population centres.
Finally, the decreased quality of air was attributed to attacks on the US Clean Air Act, which the Union of Concerned Scientists has previously credited with preventing hundreds of thousands of premature deaths across the US.
LittleShrub on October 24th, 2019 at 12:57 UTC »
Environmental Rules Being Rolled Back Under Trump
[Excerpt -- rules related to air pollution and emissions]
COMPLETED
Canceled a requirement for oil and gas companies to report methane emissions. Revised and partially repealed an Obama-era rule limiting methane emissions on public lands, including intentional venting and flaring from drilling operations. Loosened a Clinton-era rule designed to limit toxic emissions from major industrial polluters. Stopped enforcing a 2015 rule that prohibited the use of hydrofluorocarbons, powerful greenhouse gases, in air-conditioners and refrigerators. Repealed a requirement that state and regional authorities track tailpipe emissions from vehicles traveling on federal highways. Reverted to a weaker 2009 pollution permitting program for new power plants and expansions. Amended rules that govern how refineries monitor pollution in surrounding communities. Directed agencies to stop using an Obama-era calculation of the “social cost of carbon” that rulemakers used to estimate the long-term economic benefits of reducing carbon dioxide emissions. Withdrew guidance that federal agencies include greenhouse gas emissions in environmental reviews. But several district courts have ruled that emissions must be included in such reviews. Lifted a summertime ban on the use of E15, a gasoline blend made of 15 percent ethanol. (Burning gasoline with a higher concentration of ethanol in hot conditions increases smog.)IN PROCESS
Proposed rules to end federal requirements that oil and gas companies install technology to inspect for and fix methane leaks from wells, pipelines and storage facilities. Proposed weakening Obama-era fuel-economy standards for cars and light trucks. The proposal also challenges California’s right to set its own more stringent standards, which other states can choose to follow. Announced intent to withdraw the United States from the Paris climate agreement. (The process of withdrawing cannot be completed until 2020.) Proposed repeal of the Clean Power Plan, which would have set strict limits on carbon emissions from coal- and gas-fired power plants. In April 2019, the E.P.A. sent a replacement plan, which would let states set their own rules, to the White House for budget review. Proposed eliminating Obama-era restrictions that in effect required newly built coal power plants to capture carbon dioxide emissions. Proposed a legal justification for weakening an Obama-era rule that limited mercury emissions from coal power plants. Proposed revisions to standards for carbon dioxide emissions from new, modified and reconstructed power plants. Began review of emissions rules for power plant start-ups, shutdowns and malfunctions. In April, the E.P.A. filed an order reversing a requirement that 36 states follow the emissions rule. Proposed relaxing Obama-era requirements that companies monitor and repair methane leaks at oil and gas facilities. Proposed changing rules aimed at cutting methane emissions from landfills. In May, 2019, a federal judge ruled against the E.P.A. for failing to enforce the existing law and gave the agency a fall deadline for finalizing state and federal rules. E.P.A. said it is reviewing the decision. Announced a rewrite of an Obama-era rule meant to reduce air pollution in national parks and wilderness areas. Weakened oversight of some state plans for reducing air pollution in national parks. (In Texas, the E.P.A. rejected an Obama-era plan that would have required the installation of equipment at some coal-burning power plants to reduce sulfur dioxide emissions.) Proposed repealing leak-repair, maintenance and reporting requirements for large refrigeration and air conditioning systems containing hydrofluorocarbons. Proposed limiting the ability of individuals and communities to challenge E.P.A.-issued pollution permits before a panel of agency judges.Fidelis29 on October 24th, 2019 at 12:31 UTC »
Well...what did people expect? The EPA doesn’t exist to simply be annoying. Rolling back regulations is equivalent to trading health for money.
samaya_tree_r on October 24th, 2019 at 10:43 UTC »
MAGA indeed.
Short sighted profit grabbing policies that kill people.