Houston Mayor Attacks EPA over Air Pollution
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 07.13.08
In response to our post Why do Republicans hate bicycles? Commenter Michael wrote: "Not to mention that Mayor Bill White (Republican mayor of Houston) is pushing the EPA to make refineries and chemical plants verify their emissions. Of course, considering this piece of news shows a Republican actually being green goes against Treehugger, nothing about it will get posted."
We take umbrage at that; we are not anti-Republican, we are pro-bike and pro-environment and perfectly happy to do EPA-bashing whichever the source. Here goes:
Bill White, the Mayor of Houston, thinks the air over his city is a toxic soup because of emissions from chemical plants and refineries. But he doesn't know for sure, because the Environmental Protection Agency doesn't test for it, it just relies on estimates from the producers.
According to the Houston Chronicle:
White said studies show that actual emissions can be 100 times greater than EPA estimates, which are based on industry-provided data.
To produce more reliable information, the federal agency should require refineries and chemical plants to verify the accuracy of their emissions with emerging laser technology and fence-line monitors, among other steps, White said.
"Up until now, the EPA has relied on rough estimates, and the companies themselves have done the estimates," he said. "It's a simple request, but it's a very bold request. It's a request that will allow the people of Houston to know what's in their air."
White said the EPA uses formulas, equations and assumptions to determine pollution levels from refineries and chemical plants that the agency itself described as flawed 12 years ago. ::Houston Chronicle
The operating procedure seems to be the same throughout the government: What you don't know won't hurt you, so why test?
More in TreeHugger on government oversight and regulation:
EPA Closing Libraries, Destroying Scientific Documents
EPA : What, Us Regulate Pollution?
EPA Doesn't Want To Know About Factory Farm Pollution :
Bush Administration Puts Hands Over Eyes, Chants LaLaLa I Can't ...
Thirsty for more? Check out these related articles:
- Another Reason to Laugh When They Say that Concrete is Green
- Why the Next President Should Use the Clean Air Act to Administer a National Carbon Cap-and-Trade Program
- Green Glossary: Acid Soil
- EPA Provides New E-Waste Guidelines, But Zero New Regulations
Bill White is a Democrat as far as I know but the Houston mayoral office is non-partisan. Candidates do not state a party when running.
Well I hope they take action to help determine what is in their air for the health of their residents.
I'm sure all that smog comes from refineries and none of it comes from the massive amount of cars stalled in traffic around Houston.
Kudos to any mayor that steps up to the plate and challenges a Federal agency to be proactive and not just reactive. Especially when said mayor governs a city that is being scrutinized by that Federal agency for it's air quality.
Federal agencies are about as effective as political parties at being proactive. We need more local grass root efforts such as Mayor White's to set the agenda in Washington D.C.
'Commenter Michael' doesn't realize Mayor BIll White is a democrat and always has been . . .
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_White_(mayor)
Guess he should go back to blaming treehugger being partisan again.
Bill White is a Democrat. Even worked in the Clinton administration.
The fight against health and habitat damaging pollution should be waged by both Democrats and Republicans. Gov. Schwarzenegger R-CA is one of America's leading figures against pollution.
Fact is, Republicans have been long connected to the oil industry for personal profiteering, campaign contributions and so on...but not all of them.
Ok, I apologize Treehugger. From what I gathered, he was a Republican. The way the media described him. I guess I never actually looked into it. I didn't know my comment would be taken that seriously. Living in a red state, I've started assuming that practically everyone in office is a Republican. I guess I won't make that mistake again.
But I still think that not "all" Republicans hate bikes and hate the environment. I have a few right-winged friends that are bike lovers, and politics doesn't get in the way of that.
That Republican from North Carolina is just one of those guys that gives the R-party a bad name. Along with many others. If you didn't remember, two great presidents in U.S. history, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt were Republicans, and that didn't stop them from achieving great things.
Individuals are individuals, and you just can't tag a certain group because of a few bad individuals.
I think the party divide is overstated in most media sources. I also think talk of polarization is a self-fulfilling prophecy.
My dad is a republican, and whenever I talk to him we espouses views that are usually quite intelligent and well thought out. He has a nuanced view of many aspects of a number of issues, including environmental issues. He's been slack in adopting any sort of changes in his own lifestyle, but we're making progress. Then he goes and watches O'Reilly, and all his own ideas go out the window, replaced by impassioned rhetoric and ridiculous assertions. I don't get it.
I am so happy someone else is fighting to clean up Houston too. We have many environmentalist here fighting the green fight, but its a tough fight in a city thats all about fast and easy.
The two party system is just an illusory facade designed to hide the fact that both parties do very little and work primarily to serve the interests of those with money. Over the last 20 years, which party has done more in terms of passed legislation for the environment? By "for the environment," I mean something more than saving a few acres here and there for some snail that's endangered. I'm talking about meaningful legislation that reduces pollution on a national scale.