Is Obama the new Mr. Clean?

Good news on the Clean Air Act front! The Wall Street Journal is reporting the U.S. subsidiaries of two French companies agreed to install new pollution controlling technologies in 28 plants! Though the total cost to the companies, combined, will be somewhere around $282 million, the result would be the decrease of 41,000 tons of pollutants that cause respiratory problems as well as a variety of environmental damage. I hope other corporations will see this as a cue to change their procedures as well.

Under Obama’s administration, the E.P.A. has taken more aggressive measures than the Bush Administration when it comes to enforcing the policies of the Clean Air Act. This month the E.P.A. announced it would be making the standard for ground-level ozone (aka smog) more strict and new rules on the elements that cause haze in polluted cities could also be announced in the near future.

While you and I are certainly thrilled with the direction Obama is taking, the administration has its opposition. For instance, a newspaper out of Dallas, TX mentions that many officials in the state including Gov. Rick Perry are fighting the changes. It is certainly an uphill battle faced by Obama so be sure to contact President Obama and tell him you support the E.P.A.’s stricter measures. Its reaching out to elected officials like this that leads to great initiatives like the Clean Air Act!