With a new president-elect only days away, the Bush administration is racing to push through 11th-hour, polluter-friendly rules.
The Washington Post flagged some of the most egregious examples in a front-page story, Friday.
The latest to pop up is what the Bush EPA opaquely describes as the "increment modeling" rule. It is now under review by the White House Office of Management and Budget.
Despite its inpenetrable name, this rule is highly controversial: It would make it easier for electric power plants and other big smokestack sources of air pollution to site near national parks and wilderness areas. It would do this by changing the way companies estimate the impact of their pollution on the parks and wilderness areas -- essentially pretending there would be less damage than would really occur.
This is an extremely duplicitous rule change. (How many people know what "increment modeling" means?)
It really ought to be called the "dirty air in the parks" rule.
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Comments
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human power Posted 4:12 pm
31 Oct 2008
Sadly, my generation of Americans cares more about being able to drive everywhere than keeping anyplace beautiful enough to warrant the trip; and our kids seem even lazier.
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guade00 Posted 6:54 am
01 Nov 2008
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Wolverine Posted 10:16 am
01 Nov 2008
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Tasermons Partner Posted 11:08 am
01 Nov 2008
That's essentially the plan, yes.
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GreenMom Posted 2:43 pm
01 Nov 2008
If these rules are being proposed now, there's no way they'd be finalized until sometime well after January. The best course would be to lobby the new Administration not to go final.
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