Tuesday, March 04, 2014

New Tailpipe Emissions Approved

The Union of Concerned Scientists tells US the current administration approved a new rule to clean clean gasoline and reduce harmful emissions from passenger vehicles. The regulations will reduce sulfur in gasoline from 30ppm to 10ppm and smog forming emissions from new passenger vehicles. The changes will improve public health by reducing asthma attacks, respiratory illness, and premature deaths. These conditions cost billions in extra health care expense. Although widely supported among interest groups, the recalcitrant oil industry remains vocally opposed to the standards and relies on psuedo-science and propaganda to block their adoption. Such anti-social behavior from an industry heavily subsidized by the taxpayer is baffling and only possible because it heavily subsidizes politicians on the Washington gravy boat. The cost of the new standards are expected to be less than a penny a gallon. Go figure, but there is no accounting for bad attitude.

An ironic policy juxtaposition only Washington, DC is capable of: 370 young protesters were arrested on March 2nd for chaining themselves to the White House fence in protest against the Keystone XL pipeline which is pending the Current Occupant's approval. The protesters represented over 50 colleges and universities taking action against the pipeline that is intended to transport 830,000 barrels a day of high-sulphur bitumen to Gulf Coast refineries. James Hansen a retired NASA scientist told a law conference on Saturday that for "them [the State Department] to rule there's no environmental impact is pure scientific garbage."