The Trump administration is dismantling air pollution regulations, a move experts say will lead to more respiratory illnesses, premature deaths, and higher healthcare costs.
Dana Drugmand reports for The New Lede.
In short:
- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency administrator, Lee Zeldin, announced dozens of regulatory rollbacks, calling them the "biggest and greatest" in U.S. history, with industry groups praising the move.
- Public health experts warn that cutting air pollution protections will increase rates of asthma, lung disease, and premature death, particularly affecting children and vulnerable populations.
- The administration also seeks to revoke the EPA’s 2009 endangerment finding for greenhouse gases, which underpins legal limits on climate pollution.
Key quote:
“The downstream consequences of these actions are more pollution, more disease, and more death.”
— Phil Landrigan, director of the global public health program at Boston College
Why this matters:
Air pollution is a leading cause of respiratory and cardiovascular disease, disproportionately harming children, pregnant women, and low-income communities. Weakening regulations on emissions from power plants, vehicles, and industrial facilities could reverse decades of progress in reducing air pollution-related deaths. The rollbacks also undermine efforts to curb climate change, as carbon pollution drives rising temperatures and extreme weather events. With more polluted air and climate-related impacts, communities across the U.S. will face worsening health outcomes and economic strain from increased medical costs and lost productivity.
Related: Opinion: America, this is what environmental justice is — and what we all stand to lose
