Newswise — American Thoracic Society President Dean E. Schraufnagel, MD, today expressed “grave concerns” with legislation released by House Energy and Commerce Committee chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) and Senate Environment and Public Works Chairman Jim Inhofe (R-OK) to make changes to the Clean Air Act.
“The Clean Air Act is one of the best public health success stories of the past four decades and has saved thousands of American lives,” said Dr. Schraufnagel. ”Any effort to revise the Clean Air Act should be carefully considered and focused on enhancing the public health benefits – not on granting big polluters a free pass to increase the amount of carbon pollution they pump into the air.”
The legislation proposed by Rep. Upton and Sen. Inhofe would allow polluters to emit unlimited amounts of carbon pollution into the environment.
“The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that under the Clean Air Act, the EPA must issue standards to address carbon emissions,“ said Dr. Schraufnagel. “The legislation introduced today, runs counter to the U.S. Supreme Court, undermines protection of nation’s clean air and continues to leave the United States vulnerable to the adverse health effects of climate change. This legislation would encourage polluters to emit carbon pollution into the air that adversely affects public health and increases global warming.”
Although the potential health effects of global warming are not fully described, experts predict an increase in heat-related deaths and the number of people suffering from respiratory diseases.
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