Wouldn't it seem to make sense that new power plants would have more recent technology and the ability to pollute less? Nope, not in the minds of the Bush administration. In their backwards world, new power plants should be able to pollute more, stepping back even deeper into the past. Let me guess...Obama is going to give this program a try, because it would be unfair not to at least talk with polluters and let them pollute in the spirit of fairness.
The Environmental Protection Agency ruled yesterday that new power plants are not required to install technology to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, rejecting an argument from environmental groups.
The ruling, in a memorandum signed by EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson, turns on a seemingly arcane regulatory question that could govern the future of new fossil fuel-burning buildings and power plants under the Clean Air Act.
During the Bush administration, the EPA has rejected the idea that greenhouse gases should be regulated like soot, smog precursors and other kinds of air pollution, despite an April 2007 Supreme Court ruling that said carbon dioxide fit the definition of a pollutant that could be regulated under the Clean Air Act.
