DOWN IN BUSH COUNTRY
The Air's Not Just Stinky...It'll Kill You

An op-ed piece from the Houston Chronicle:

While avoiding installation of new pollution control devices might save the petrochemical industry billions of dollars, their savings would not necessarily improve the U.S. economy. A study released from the Office of Management and Budget, which assists the president in the development and execution of policies and programs, reveals that enforcing the clean air rules administered by the Environmental Protection Agency would actually produce annual benefits to the economy of between $101 billion and $119 billion measured in terms of fewer premature deaths, hospitalizations, emergency room visits and lost work. The cost for industry to comply with these rules would be less than $9 billion.

Time and again the national, state and local government officials who are expected to protect our health and safety seem much more interested in protecting the profits of the petrochemical industry. This needs to change. I believe our environment is in crisis and our health is in jeopardy, especially in Houston. I hear from mothers and grandmothers living near the Houston Ship Channel whose children are suffering with rare forms of brain cancer. I know about the rising rates of childhood asthma here and across our nation, and increased admissions to hospitals for children having asthma attacks. More and more of us are suffering from chronic coughs and allergies aggravated by the dirty air.

For more, click here.

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$