W.J. Astore

If you’re of a certain age, you probably remember environmental commercials featuring Woodsy the “anti-pollution owl” with the motto: “Give a hoot! Don’t pollute!”

Under the Trump administration, we need to modify that motto: “Don’t give a hoot.  Pollute!”

That’s the message of Trump’s new plan for powerplant emissions.  According to the EPA, this new plan may result in as many as 1,630 additional premature deaths annually by 2030, as reported by Bloomberg:

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says its proposal to relax greenhouse gas limits on power plants will cause as many as 1,630 additional premature deaths annually by 2030 from heart and lung disease — an estimate independent experts say may be low.

The projection is contained in a 289-page technical document accompanying the agency’s proposal to replace the Obama-era Clean Power Plan that was released Tuesday.

The new rule would give states more leeway to set limits on greenhouse gas emissions from their power sectors — even though, by the agency’s own admission, that will result in higher levels of particulate matter and ozone being emitted by coal plants than would have occurred under President Barack Obama’s plan. That pollution is linked with respiratory infections, asthma and impaired lung function.

As my wife pointed out to me, Trump & friends aren’t worried about smog and pollution and respiratory discomfort.  They don’t live downwind from coal-fired plants.  Trump can always escape to one of his many resorts and golf courses around the world.

How cynical and callous do you have to be to suggest changes to environmental regulations that you know will kill lots of Americans in the future?

Making America great again?  No — It’s making America polluted again.  Woodsy the Owl is not happy, America.