Last Friday, the Obama administration announced that it would be withdrawing the proposed updated national ozone standards, delaying until at least 2013 a safeguard that would protect our families from dangerous smog pollution.
In making this decision, the Obama administration has caved to big polluters at the expense of protecting the air we breathe. It is a huge win for corporate polluters and a huge loss for public health.
I’ve worked on environmental issues in Washington, D.C. for more than 30 years – and I’ve worked with Democratic administrations for nearly 15 of those years. As I reflect on this extremely dissapointing decision, there’s no doubt in my mind that this is the worst environmental decision ever made by a Democratic president in that window of time.
Letting the polluters off the hook won’t create jobs and won’t fuel innovation. But it will cost lives and endanger the health of children and seniors. It is terrible policy and terrible politics.
A new standard for smog would prevent up to 12,000 premature deaths, 5,300 heart attacks and tens of thousands of cases of asthma and other serious respiratory illnesses each year. This is the true cost of the ozone smog standard – doing nothing puts our lives and health at risk.
Yet the White House decision is a severe disappointment for the millions of Americans who had hoped for something better than the usual special interest control and influence over federal policies. It runs counter to the important work the Obama administration has already done to improve public health safeguards and protect vital clean air standards. And that’s why President Obama needs to hear from you today.
Click here to send a message to President Obama. Tell him that you are extremely disappointed in his decision to delay vital clear air standards.
Click here to send a message to President Obama. Tell him that you are extremely disappointed in his decision to delay vital clear air standards.
Thank you for taking action and making your voice heard.
Sincerely,
Gene Karpinski
President
League of Conservation Voters
Gene Karpinski
President
League of Conservation Voters
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