Watertown Daily Times

November 16, 2007

 

 

Addressing climate change

McHugh bill a tough, balanced approach to air pollution problems

By Neil F. Woodworth

A history question: Was America built on courage, innovation and a can-do attitude? Or were the men and women who shaped this great nation a bunch of naysayers and defeatists who hid their heads in the sand?

Rep. John McHugh, R-Pierrepont Manor, has proved he’s from the former group. His Healthy Air and Clean Water Act is a bold step in addressing the most serious environmental, health and economic issue facing this and every nation – global climate change. H.R. 3989 would mandate an 80 percent reduction of carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants by 2050, while also sharply cutting emissions of mercury and pollutants that cause acid rain.

And what was the response to the legislation from the electric-power industry, as represented by Dan Riedinger of the Edison Electric Institute (EEI), whose membership includes some of the nation’s biggest polluters? It can’t be done. These cuts are not technologically feasible. No, the people who have led the world in innovation for more than two centuries and put a man on the moon aren’t up to the task.

We respectfully disagree. Much of the technology needed to adequately reduce carbon emissions already exists, and American companies are investing billions of dollars to advance emerging clean-energy technologies.

Technologically, the solution is within our grasp. What is lacking is the will to act. In many ways, the utility industry is following the tobacco industry’s model of denial and foot dragging.

Mr. Riedinger’s statements about the limits of technology are disingenuous, considering that EEI members have resisted current technology and relied on dirty, 19th century coal-burning technology. When the federal Clean Air Act was enacted, it did not require older power plants to install smokestack scrubbers because Congress assumed that these plants would eventually be replaced by newer, cleaner plants. The utility companies illegally took advantage of this loophole by refurbishing older plants to keep them running without pollution-control devices. Fortunately, the U.S. Supreme Court cried foul in two recent decisions.

No, the real issue for EEI and its members isn’t technology. It’s profits. They’re concerned that McHugh’s bill will cut into the lucrative profits to be had from polluting without penalty.

But the polluters’ gains come at our expense. Acid rain has already devastated a quarter of the lakes in the Adirondacks, and 96 percent of lakes in the Adirondacks exceed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s recommended level for methyl mercury in fish.

Northern New York is already experiencing the effects of global climate change, and the eventual impact on the environment, human health and the economy will likely be substantial.

Global warming is expected to worsen air quality, increasing the number of ozone alerts and endangering people who suffer from cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. High temperatures and increased carbon dioxide levels could bolster pollen production, increasing asthma attacks and extending the allergy season. Warming climate also helps spread vector-borne diseases such as West Nile virus and Lyme disease.

Increasing temperatures threaten the dairy industry. When high temperatures stress cows, they produce less milk. In 2005, production losses resulting from heat stress cost New York’s dairy industry more than $24 million, according to a report by the Union of Concerned Scientists. The wood-products and paper industries are also at risk. Rising temperatures will reduce the range of spruce and fir trees and leave northern forests vulnerable to tree-destroying pests such as the Sirex woodwasp, hemlock woolly adelgid and the Asian longhorned beetle.

The region’s tourism industry could also suffer. Global warming could significantly reduce habitat for brook trout and other cold-water fish. Increased temperatures also mean less snow, which is devastating to communities that rely heavily on winter sports such as snowmobiling, downhill and cross-country skiing and snowshoeing.

Congressman McHugh’s legislation is an aggressive, yet balanced, approach to these serious air-pollution problems, problems that are largely the result of coal-burning power plants represented by Mr. Riedinger. For decades, EEI’s members have reaped the rewards from their irresponsible activities while dumping their problems on the people of Northern New York. 

Mr. Woodworth is the executive director of the Adirondack Mountain Club, a non-profit membership organization dedicated to protecting the New York State Forest Preserve and other wild lands and waters through conservation and advocacy, environmental education and responsible recreation.