America Needs Better Air But Businesses Don’t Want to Clean Up
Critics of new EPA regulations seem to think it's fine if Americans are breathing toxins so long as Chinese and Indians are, too.
California oil.
Photographer: David McNew/Getty Images
The Environmental Protection Agency moved this week to tighten limits on fine industrial particles, one of the most common and deadliest forms of air pollution. This is both welcome and overdue. But as we have seen since the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act two years ago, legislation and rulemaking to ensure Americans’ health is often only the beginning of a lengthy and contentious process.
Biden’s squeezing the IRA through Congress, over a unified Republican opposition, was a signature achievement of his presidency. But a major story since, unfortunately, has been about obstacles to permitting new energy facilities — even projects with federal support, and even if the technology is cleaner and cheaper.