The Clean Air Act -- the key federal tool that can cut the pollution that causes global warming -- is under attack.
Senator Lisa Murkowski, a Republican from Alaska, is expected to offer an amendment on January 20 that would stop the Obama administration from using the Clean Air Act to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Friends of the Earth and a broad coalition of environmental and conservation groups from across the country have sent a letter to senators asking them to oppose the amendment.
Click here to view the letter (pdf).
You can take action to save the Clean Air Act. If you haven't yet, click here to send your senators a message asking them to vote against the Murkowski amendment and save the Clean Air Act.
The history of the Clean Air Act has demonstrated its value in reducing air pollution and improving health and welfare in cost-effective ways. Its programs have reduced a wide variety of air pollutants -- from nitrous oxides to volative organic compounds, from sulphur to pollutants causing the ozone hole -- and have done so across a wide variety of sources, from stationary sources to motor vehicles.
The Clean Air Act’s regulations have also resulted in the development of cutting-edge pollution control technologies such as SO2 scrubbers and catalytic converters as industry responded creatively to the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) mandate to ensure clean air.
Blocking the Obama administration from using the Clean Air Act to reduce greenhouse gas pollution would have a number of negative implications. We are still a frustratingly long way from achieving strong climate and clean energy legislation in Congress -- the bills closest to the finish line contain massive loopholes and giveaways that would delay needed reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
The Clean Air Act provides a comprehensive system for pollution control that the Obama administration can start using now to put quick and relatively cheap early action measures in place to reduce dangerous global warming pollution and spur investments in clean technology. The certainty of regulation associated with the Clean Air Act has been a significant technology driver in the past. By using it to jump start cuts in greenhouse gas pollution from sources like vehicles and big emitters like power plants and factories, we can drive industry innovations in clean technology solutions.
The Clean Air Act could also serve as an important safety valve to ensure that our national policy responses to global warming keep up with the latest scientific evidence on the degree and speed of emissions reductions needed to keep the climate stable -- and protect the health of people and our economy.
Learn more about how the Clean Air Act can be used effectively to cut greenhouse gas pollution.
