Q. What are the new rules announced by the EPA?
A. The Obama administration is calling the regulations its Clean Power Plan. The plan imposes the first-ever limits on carbon emissions by existing power plants — mandating a nationwide cutback of 30 percent from 2005 levels.
Q. What’s the impact?
A. Perhaps the farthest-reaching impact would be to discourage power plants from burning coal, which emits more carbon dioxide when it combusts than other fossil fuels do. The rules would also decrease carbon pollution and potentially prevent tens of thousands of asthma attacks and other respiratory problems during the next 15 years, the government says.
Q. What about the impact on electricity costs and the economy?
A. It's hard to say at this very early stage. Opponents are certain that consumers will be paying more for power, and they warn that the Clean Power Plan will be a job killer. "The administration is gambling with the livelihoods of hardworking Americans and is threatening to tip our country over the edge in costly and unreliable energy policies," Laura Sheehan of the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity told National Geographic. "And once we go over that ledge, there's no coming back up."
Experts have said that the rules, if they withstand the inevitable court challenges, could close hundreds of power plants nationwide, the New York Times reported today. Supporters say the plan gives the states great flexibility in how they achieve these reductions and that, in any case, the long-run economic benefits will outweigh the risks. Said EPA administrator Gina McCarthy: "All this means more jobs, not less. We'll need tens of thousands of American workers — in construction, transmission, and more — to make cleaner power a reality."
Q. What’s wrong with carbon dioxide?
A. CO2 is a "greenhouse" gas. Greenhouse gases collect in the atmosphere after being emitted by coal-burning power plants, cars, cows and many other sources. Sunlight can pass through greenhouse gases on its way to the Earth's surface, and the Earth reflects some of this back as infrared radiation (heat). But the greenhouse gases absorb the infrared radiation and trap the heat in the atmosphere. That's why the government is targeting carbon dioxide.
Q. Why are power plants being singled out?
A. Power plants pump out one-third of the air's carbon dioxide pollution. The government and the vast majority of climate scientists say greenhouse gas emissions because of human activity are a cause of global warming. So the regulations aim to reduce those emissions.
Q. Will these new measures reverse global warming?
A. No. Authorities on climate change say it's an important first step. The administration is essentially taking the long view: Substantial carbon reductions now will help set the direction of energy policy in the future, weaning the energy industry off coal and prodding it toward cleaner sources.
Q. Does Georgia Power rely on coal-burning plants?
A. Yes. Coal accounted for 35 percent of the company's energy generation last year, according to the Georgia Public Service Commission.
Q. What are the benefits of these reductions?
A. This is a quote from the EPA fact sheet: "The Clean Power Plan will lead to climate and health benefits worth an estimated $55 billion to $93 billion in 2030, including avoiding 2,700 to 6,600 premature deaths and 140,000 to 150,000 asthma attacks in children."
Q. Isn’t the coal industry important in the U.S.?
A. Yes. It's a multibillion-dollar business. Wyoming is by far the leading coal-producing state, followed by West Virginia, Kentucky, Pennsylvania and Illinois, in that order. In 2012, Wyoming mined 401 million tons of coal — about 40 percent of total U.S. production — valued at about $4 billion. (Figures are from the National Mining Association, the Wyoming State Geological Survey and the U.S. Energy Information Administration.) With that kind of money at stake, the coal industry will not take this lying down.
Q. Doesn’t the coal industry employ a lot of people?
A. Yes. Coal mines nationwide directly employ about 90,000 people, government figures show. But many other industries dependent on coal might also be affected.
Q. Who else opposes the regulations?
A. In the coal states, members of Congress and state and local politicians are strong opponents of the rules. They argue that mining is critical to their states' economies and that tens of thousands of jobs hang in the balance. In the Republicans' Saturday radio address, Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., said the administration has "set out to kill coal and its 800,000 jobs. … We'll all be paying a lot more money for electricity — if we can get it." The U.S. Chamber of Commerce last week said the new regulations will raise the price of electricity and kill jobs. Also watching very carefully and lobbying very aggressively: electric utilities that depend on burning coal to produce power. The British newspaper the Guardian reported last month that the American Legislative Exchange Council, funded in part by oil and coal interests, is urging state attorneys general to sue the federal government over the rules.
Q. Who supports the regulations?
A. The list includes most climate scientists, environmentalists and many Democrats, although Democratic officeholders in coal states are facing a very rough time if they support the Clean Power Plan. The Washington Post on Monday quoted a note sent to members by Organizing for Action Chairman Jim Messina in which Messina urged that people sign an online petition in support of the plan: "As I write this, powerful interests on the other side are lining up their dirty budgets to try to tear this down. They have plenty of allies in Congress that will try to stop us. I'm asking everyone who cares about this fight to stand up and say so today — stand with President Obama and new carbon pollution standards."
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