Obama's Historic Chance To Control Coal Pollution

The document argues for the implementation of strict EPA standards on coal-fired power plant emissions, specifically targeting mercury, benzene, and arsenic. It highlights the public health risks of mercury, the ability of many plants to already adopt pollution controls, and the potential for clean energy sources like wind and solar to replace polluting plants.

• Coal-fired power plants are the primary source of mercury emissions, accounting for 99 percent of the total, which has led to fish consumption warnings in the United States and poses risks of impaired brain function and reduced IQ in children.
• A small number of power plants are responsible for a disproportionate amount of pollution, with the 50 worst mercury polluters producing nearly half of the entire industry's mercury emissions according to the Environmental Integrity Project.
• Despite industry claims that new EPA standards would kill jobs or compromise electric reliability, more than half of all coal-fired power plants have already implemented available pollution control technologies and remained operational.
• The EPA received 900,000 public comments supporting a strong rule on air toxics, the largest outpouring of public comment on a rule the agency has ever received.

APA

Earthjustice (2011). Obama's Historic Chance To Control Coal Pollution. https://earthjustice.org/article/obama-s-historic-chance-to-control-coal-pollution

Chicago

Earthjustice. Obama's Historic Chance To Control Coal Pollution. 2011. https://earthjustice.org/article/obama-s-historic-chance-to-control-coal-pollution.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Earthjustice |title=Obama's Historic Chance To Control Coal Pollution |date=12 December 2011 |url=https://earthjustice.org/article/obama-s-historic-chance-to-control-coal-pollution |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{earthjustice2011obamas, author = {{Earthjustice}}, title = {{Obama's Historic Chance To Control Coal Pollution}}, publisher = {Earthjustice}, year = {2011}, month = dec, url = {https://earthjustice.org/article/obama-s-historic-chance-to-control-coal-pollution}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }