As you may be aware, the EPA is proposing a stricter standard from the current 75 ppb. 136 members of Congress recently put out a letter stating that the EPA keep the ozone standard at 75 ppb, and the US Chamber of Commerce and 260 other business organizations did the same. I have always found the idea of regulations interesting. To me, it comes down to health vs. technology. The EPA believes in developing new regulations based on providing the best environment for human health and providing time for companies to adjust to the rule. Industry believes that there is only so much technology can do, and so standards must be kept until technology matures to achieve that standard before moving to stricter standards. Also, industry believes the public health motivations for moving to a stricter standard may not be settled.
This latest battle may be just another in a long line of industry vs. EPA battles regarding regulation. One could side with the EPA, saying that the overall health of the public should be priority, and new regulations should be implemented to maintain what it believes will maintain a high quality of life. One could also side with industry, saying by forcing regulation, you pass extra costs onto them, and that they would have to implement unforeseen technologies to achieve that new regulation, which cuts into their bottom or forces them to pass costs onto consumers, resulting in lost jobs and income.
I’d like to hear your thoughts on this.
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