Pay me now, Pay me later
From today’s Washington Post: The EPA ignored its scientific advisers and lowered the allowable concentration of ozone in the atmosphere to 75 ppb from the current standard of 84 ppb. Their Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee unanimously recommended a limit of 70 ppb, while the Children’s Health Protection Advisory Committee lobbied for 60 ppb. Power companies, of course, wanted no change, and their interests triumphed. The effect of any limits is to reduce the amount of nitrogen oxides etc. that can be released by power companies, and that costs money. S. William Becker, executive director of the National Association of Clean Air Agencies (local governments) summed it up: “It is disheartening that once again EPA has missed a critical opportunity to protect public health and welfare by ignoring the unanimous recommendations of its independent science advisers.”
The reason that this is of interest here is the point about health vs healthcare. If you want to improve the health of the population, reduce the ozone concentration. Nothing to do with healthcare. The EPA estimated that reducing the level to 65 ppb could save up to 9,000 premature deaths per year. But death is cheap. Those who survive become ill and use the healthcare system. And those costs go on for a lifetime.
The point has been made before that the true cost of burning coal is not reflected in the price per ton. We must include the cost of adverse health effects from air pollution. We might also include the trashing of landscape by strip mining and the resultant sterilization of local streams by toxic runoff. How do you account for the lowering of a child’s IQ from breathing heavy metals? Coal is only cheap when you don’t account for all of the costs.
George was concerned about the near term costs of reducing pollution. But the effects of air pollution on the population go on forever. Anyone going to Beijing?
The reason that this is of interest here is the point about health vs healthcare. If you want to improve the health of the population, reduce the ozone concentration. Nothing to do with healthcare. The EPA estimated that reducing the level to 65 ppb could save up to 9,000 premature deaths per year. But death is cheap. Those who survive become ill and use the healthcare system. And those costs go on for a lifetime.
The point has been made before that the true cost of burning coal is not reflected in the price per ton. We must include the cost of adverse health effects from air pollution. We might also include the trashing of landscape by strip mining and the resultant sterilization of local streams by toxic runoff. How do you account for the lowering of a child’s IQ from breathing heavy metals? Coal is only cheap when you don’t account for all of the costs.
George was concerned about the near term costs of reducing pollution. But the effects of air pollution on the population go on forever. Anyone going to Beijing?
