Obama announces plan to reduce emissions from power plants.

Last Monday, President Obama announced a plan for the nation to reduce carbon emissions from coal plants. The new Environmental Protection Agency rule would reduce these emissions by 30% before 2030.  

While announcing his plan, Obama explained that power plants can cause asthma and other diseases in children.  Gina McCarthy, an EPA administrator, explained that something needed to be done with the climate for our kid’s and our families’s futures. 

Obama’s announcement spurred protests from the energy industry, Republicans, and some Democrats who believe the new rules will harm the economy.  Although the reduction in carbon emissions will definitely have a price, fewer premature deaths and respiratory diseases will save the U.S. billions of dollars in the future. The changes will also hopefully lower electricity costs for many citizens.

Although there are many facts proving that global warming is happening right now, too many people don’t believe it.  If nothing is done, conditions and health effects will only worsen because of the carbon dioxide being released into the air and the ocean. 

The decision to reduce emissions from coal plants will greatly benefit the United States, especially since we are one of the largest countries for pollution and coal power plants give off more air pollution than any other source.  Although the U.S. will benefit from this decision, more should be done to reduce the effects of climate change.  More regulations should be put on fuel economy and further limits should be put on coal plants.  In the long run, citizens will benefit from cheaper, renewable resources and pure air. 

If dogs ran the government, laws and regulations would be put on power plants, cars, and sources of carbon dioxide emissions as soon as climate change became evident.