Photo: Creative Commons
You’ve probably heard about the Clean Power Plan, the Obama Administration’s new proposal to help set carbon-emissions standards.
For those of you who haven’t, here’s a quick synopsis of the Clean Power Plan:
The Clean Power Plan has caused a lot of controversy over the past couple of weeks, both inside the United States and outside it. Some states, such as Ohio, claim that the goals set by the EPA are too large and will end up hurting their economy. Others, like New York, not only support the bill but are said to have inspired its proposal.
There’s also questions regarding the uneven standards; like the highest carbon-emitting state, Texas cutting less that one of the smallest carbon footprint states of Washington. Or how natural gas is still kind of encouraged with this legislation. The Supreme Court’s decision to limit the EPA’s ability to regulate greenhouse gases shouldn’t cripple the EPA’s power, but isn’t amazing for Obama’s plan.
Although Pennsylvania has one of the largest reduction goals, Mayor Nutter is still optimistic and openly supporting the Clean Power Plan. In a statement released, he says that he “applauds” President Obama’s initiative and hopes that Philadelphia can continue to lead the way to a “strong, tailored approach to meet the new standards.”
In a lot of ways, Philadelphia already does this. The Greenworks plan to make Philly greener, is in progress to reduce Philadelphia’s emissions by 20 percent by 2015, a goal that was set way before the Clean Power Plan was created.
Clearly, Philadelphia is one of the cities that the EPA cites as spearheading the Clean Power Plan. This is something we should be proud of!
What do you think of the Clean Power Plan, readers?
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