Industrial Lobbyists Stick to "Chicken Little" Rhetoric Despite Evidence of Environmental and Health Benefits of Clean Air Act

A report from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today shows that pollution controls for ozone and soot in the 1990 amendments of the Clean Air Act - currently under harsh attack from polluting industries and allies on the Hill - will yield approximately $2 trillion in benefits in 2020 while saving 230,000 people from early death in that year alone.

The findings of EPA's new report stand in stark contrast to the decades-old mantra of industry lobbyists and their political allies that regulations to protect public health and the environment will cost too much, have little benefit, and drive businesses overseas and workers to the bread lines.

The Southern Environmental Law Center recently issued a short fact-sheet featuring quotes in the media by industry spokespeople about various Clean Air Act programs over the years compared with information showing continued economic expansion. Some examples:
* " ...a quiet death for businesses across the country..."
*  "...we will continue to spiral downward from our once lofty position as the world's greatest economy..."
* "... a chilling effect on economic growth in this country..."
* "This regulation will create a sucking sound (of businesses leaving certain counties) that nobody will forget."

Find SELC's fact sheet here:
http://www.southernenvironment.org/uploads/publications/SELC_-_Quotes_and_Facts_About_the_Clean_Air_Act.pdf

EPA press release:
http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/0/f8ad3485e788be5a8525784600540649?OpenDocument

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The Southern Environmental Law Center is a regional conservation organization using the power of the law to protect the health and environment of the Southeast (Virginia, Tennessee, North and South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama). Founded in 1986, SELC's team of 40 legal experts represent more than 100 partner groups on issues of climate change and energy, air and water quality, forests, the coast and wetlands, transportation, and land use.

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