Daniel Carawan
, Richmond Progressive Examiner
January 9, 2012
What do coal-fired power plants and AG Ken Cuccinelli have in common?
They both blow smoke.
Unfortunately, it’s not certain which form of smoke is more dangerous for Virginians. On the one hand, coal-fired power plants don’t know they are killing thousands of individuals each year. They’re not sentient human beings. Ken Cuccinelli, on the other hand, is a (quasi) sentient individual who has to be fully aware that regulating mercury will dramatically reduce American’s exposure to this toxic substance. Or is he?
In a recent interview on The Kojo Nnamdi Show, Cuccinelli claimed that the EPA has produced no demonstrable benefits that “holds up for the mercury piece” that would justify sending electricity rates “through the roof.” No demonstrable benefits, really? How about thousands of saved lives and prevented birth defects, learning disabilities, and respiratory diseases as demonstrable benefits[1]?
Moreover, Cuccinelli claims to care about the well-being of “poor” Virginians like those living in the Appalachia and Southside areas, so much so in fact that he has not come out publicly in opposition to lifting the uranium mining ban in Virginia. Moreover, why doesn’t Cuccinelli complain about the seemingly frequent rate hikes asked for by Virginia’s utilities and rubber-stamped by the VA State Corporation Commission?
Continue reading on Examiner.com Cuccinelli Disavows Benefits of EPA's Mercury Rules - Richmond Progressive | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/progressive-in-richmond/cuccinelli-disavows-benefits-of-epa-s-mercury-rules#ixzz1jBe8odUE
, Richmond Progressive Examiner
January 9, 2012
What do coal-fired power plants and AG Ken Cuccinelli have in common?
They both blow smoke.
Unfortunately, it’s not certain which form of smoke is more dangerous for Virginians. On the one hand, coal-fired power plants don’t know they are killing thousands of individuals each year. They’re not sentient human beings. Ken Cuccinelli, on the other hand, is a (quasi) sentient individual who has to be fully aware that regulating mercury will dramatically reduce American’s exposure to this toxic substance. Or is he?
In a recent interview on The Kojo Nnamdi Show, Cuccinelli claimed that the EPA has produced no demonstrable benefits that “holds up for the mercury piece” that would justify sending electricity rates “through the roof.” No demonstrable benefits, really? How about thousands of saved lives and prevented birth defects, learning disabilities, and respiratory diseases as demonstrable benefits[1]?
Moreover, Cuccinelli claims to care about the well-being of “poor” Virginians like those living in the Appalachia and Southside areas, so much so in fact that he has not come out publicly in opposition to lifting the uranium mining ban in Virginia. Moreover, why doesn’t Cuccinelli complain about the seemingly frequent rate hikes asked for by Virginia’s utilities and rubber-stamped by the VA State Corporation Commission?
Continue reading on Examiner.com Cuccinelli Disavows Benefits of EPA's Mercury Rules - Richmond Progressive | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/progressive-in-richmond/cuccinelli-disavows-benefits-of-epa-s-mercury-rules#ixzz1jBe8odUE
