Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2009
| Subscribe to Newser's RSS feeds RSS | Follow Newser on Twitter Twitter


0

Clean-Air Changes 'Imperil Parks'

Rules make allow power plants nearby

Share

(Newser) – Clean air rules likely to be changed this summer are causing serious concerns about future pollution at some of America's most spectacular national parks, reports the Washington Post. The changes will pave the way for 28 new coal-fired power plants near ten parks, according to a report supported by some National Park Service officials. Parks already have "impaired visibility" because of pollution, and the changes represent a major "setback," said one official.

"There are some days when it's unhealthy to breathe at the park," said a pollution specialist at Great Smoky Mountains National Park. "People come here to get away, and they can't believe that sometimes they're better off where they came from."

Virginia's Shenandoah National Park. Some conservationists are concerned about new regulations weakening air quality standards at national parks.
Virginia's Shenandoah National Park. Some conservationists are concerned about new regulations weakening air quality standards at national parks.   (KRT Photos)
Bull elk in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park Some conservationists are concerned new regulations will weaken in quality standards at national parks.
Bull elk in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park Some conservationists are concerned new regulations will weaken in quality standards at national parks.   (KRT Photos)
Relaxed pollution rules may make it easier to locate power plants near national parks like Colorado's Mesa Verde.
Relaxed pollution rules may make it easier to locate power plants near national parks like Colorado's Mesa Verde.   (KRT Photos)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
OFF THE GRID
11.23.09
Books Are Bad for You
11.20.09
The Health-Care Wars Have Just Begun
0 comments
VIEWING:
 
LEAVE A
COMMENT Comment Policy
Facebook ConnectPost this comment to Facebook?

After connecting you will have the option to post your comment on your Facebook profile.

 

Related Newser Stories

24 Stories

OPINION

Michelle, Our National Parks Need You

Only first lady can
stem wilting interest in US' 'attics of history'

Jul 12, 09 10:12 AM CDT
(Newser) - Last year, more people visited areas run by the National Parks Service than attended NFL, NBA, MLB, and NASCAR games combined. Still, Timothy Egan writes in the New York Times, the 274 million visits amount to a national crisis. “Our shared outdoor spaces, our attics of history and graveyards... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Michelle Obama • youth • national park • National Park Service • National Parks Conservation Association • home garden

(Newser) - The Environmental Protection Agency today granted California the right to set its own strict emissions standards, an about-face from Bush-era policies, Reuters reports. In a sly rebuke to the previous administration, the EPA said the move rested on a “traditional legal interpretation of the Clean Air Act.” California... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Bush administration • California • Clean Air Act • vehicle emissions • Environmental Protection Agency • emissions standards • EPA • Obama administration • President Obama • Lisa Jackson

(Newser) - The Environmental Protection Agency sent the White House a message today that greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide are detrimental to human health, Reuters reports. The "endangerment finding" may open the door for Washington to curb emissions that cause global warming. "I think it's historic news," one... More »

MORE ABOUT:
global warming • cap and trade • Environmental Protection Agency • air pollution

24 Stories


Coal plant pollution threatens US parks: report
Reuters


US  •  Science & Health 
TwitterFollow @NewserUS on Twitter

 
Henry Waxman • Clean Air Act • Environmental Protection Agency • air pollution • air quality • National Park Service • Shenandoah National Park • Mesa Verde National Park • Theodore Roosevelt National Park • National Parks Conservation Association

from our news partners