by Sarah Laskow. As a result of the EPA's new rules mandating lower toxic emissions, coal-fired power plants are closing their doors. The coal industry is complaining that the new rules are too expensive, will hike electricity rates, and cost jobs. The EPA has these facts on its side, though, according to Business Insider : The organization estimates that by 2014, the new legislation will have achieved up to $280 billion in annual health benefits, in addition to preventing up to 34,000 premature deaths, 26,000 hospital and emergency room visits, and 240,000 cases of aggravated asthma. Just think of all the cancer specialists, asthma docs, EMTs, and morticians that this policy could put out of work! Or you could think about all of the people who will live healthier and — if we have to get into the economics of it — more productive lives as a result of breathing cleaner air.
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Coal-fired power plants close down rather than clean up their emissions
