The EPA is proposing stricter health standards for smog, which will put Los Angeles and many other parts of the country in violation of federal air standards. It may cost tens of billions of dollars to reduce pollution to meet the new limits, but the EPA says the move will ultimately save billions in avoided health care costs. These new limits match what scientists and environmentalists had recommended, but were denied, under President George W. Bush in 2008. The EPA says they’re following the science, but are the health benefits worth the economic cost? Is long-term benefit to the air we breathe worth it? Or is this simply a repudiation of Bush-era politics?
Guests:
Howard Feldman, director of regulatory and scientific affairs at the American Petroleum Institute
Martin Schlageter, Interim Executive Director of the Coalition for Clean Air