The visit to Missouri of Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt trains focus among us locals on the abiding subject of saving the planet from environmental destruction.
“The war on coal is over” Pruitt said.
“The war on fossil fuels is over and we have achieved victory.” For his part, Blunt said, “We now have someone at the EPA who has both fought the EPA and I believe is willing to make a new commitment for the EPA to be doing what the EPA is supposed to do.” One might observe with a slight peek behind the curtain plenty of political wiggle room here.
Everyone wants a clean environment but not everyone agrees on the precise government rules needed to get there.
It turns out my corridors are above-average safe and I would resent overeager government enforcement of my U.S. waters.
But should I say the general rule is ill-founded?
I might say some particular instance of government enforcement is out of bounds, but I’d have to know about particulars and a need to correct enforcement practices would not invalidate the general rule.
Existing plants like Thomas Hill have become cleaner-burning and they will phase out of existence in due time, replaced with technologies producing less air pollution.
Blunt and Pruitt will do nothing to extend the life of Thomas Hill or the coal mining industry, nor to essentially mitigate the rules governing potential water pollution.
The war against fossil fuel emissions and water pollution is already won.