Three Environmental Rollbacks Could Result In 13,900 More Deaths a Year

"A key data point has been buried in the back-and-forth over the Trump administration's rollback of former President Obama's climate legacy: EPA's own research has found that lifting public health protections on air pollution could kill thousands of Americans.

Much of the discussion has focused on what the reversals mean for the warming planet, weighed against the economic cost of those regulations. There's a more immediate effect: Reducing CO2 is often linked to a reduction in fine particle air pollution, which kills millions of people globally every year.

The Obama administration crafted rules to limit emissions at power plants and bar some heavy trucks. Under President Trump, those regulations are being reversed. And so are the lives that the Obama rules would have saved, estimated by EPA to number almost 14,000."

Scott Waldman reports for ClimateWire October 2, 2018.

SEE ALSO:

"In Rollback Of Mercury Rule, Trump Could Revamp How Government Values Human Health" (Washington Post)

"Trump Administration Prepares a Major Weakening of Mercury Emissions Rules" (New York Times)