Greenhouse gas emissions, particularly those by large industries, greatly contribute to global warming. With the rising of global temperature, life on earth from plants, animals to us humans are greatly affected.
Greenhouse gases are trapped in the atmosphere rather than being released into space. When there are more greenhouse gases in the atmosphere than normal, they reflect heat back to Earth causing global warming.
In the U.S., power plants are the biggest single source of greenhouse gas emissions. According to EPA, the average U.S. coal plant emits around 2,249 tons of carbon dioxide for every megawatt hour of power they produce. This is almost double the 1,135 tons emitted by a natural gas plant on average. With this, EPA made new emission standards that will bar new power plants from emitting over 1,000 tons of carbon dioxide. These new standards rule out the building of new coal-fired power plants because they emit around 1,800 tons per megawatt. However, existing plants and those that will be built next year can freely operate even without making any effort to reduce their gas emissions.
Last Tuesday, the Obama administration already released its proposal to limit greenhouse gas emissions by power plants. Although they will not be shutting down any existing coal-fired plants, this action calls for celebration. This single step can greatly help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Bestvolunteer.org is dedicated to helping people reach their volunteer goals. If you are looking for a volunteer vacation or the best study abroad programs, Bestvolunteer.org will help guide you along the way.
Just when environmentalists are celebrating, the coal industry and its supporters in the Congress are levying a two-pronged strategy. They are seeking to pass a legislation that they hope could block the proposed rule. They are also planning to use it as political ammunition to the present administration by emphasizing that it would kill jobs.
This opposition does not take into account the effect the harmful effects of greenhouse gas emissions to the environment and all the related economic costs. Environmentalists are just hoping that President Obama and EPA will stand firm on these new standards.
Climate-policy director for the National Wildlife Federation Joe Mendelson states, “This is a milestone in the fight to rein in climate change. The EPA is taking a big step toward protecting the world our children will inherit.”