posted by Heather
Zichal on September 02, 2011 at 10:30 AM EDT

White House blog

Over the last two and a half years, the Obama Administration has taken
unprecedented steps forward to protect the public health of American families by
reducing harmful air pollution.  Taken together, the Administration’s clean air
achievements will produce enormous benefits for public health and the
environment – while promoting the nation’s continued economic growth and
well-being.

Clean Air: An Investment in Health, the Environment, and the Economy

Clean air is critical to protecting public health and the environment and the
evidence shows that it’s a good investment.  A recent report by the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) shows that the direct benefits of the Clean
Air Act – in the form of cleaner air and healthier, more productive
Americans – are estimated to reach nearly $2 trillion in the year 2020,
exceeding the costs by a factor of more than 30 to one.  These benefits are
ultimately about the health of our families.

According to the report, in 2010 alone, the reductions in fine particle and
ozone pollution from the Clean Air Act prevented:

• 160,000 premature deaths;
• More than 80,000 emergency room visits;
• Millions of cases of respiratory problems;
• Millions of lost workdays, increasing
  productivity;
• Millions of lost school days due to respiratory
  illness and other diseases caused or exacerbated by air pollution.

The Obama Administration’s Record of Achievement

Doubling fuel efficiency for cars and light duty trucks:
Shortly after taking office, President Obama directed the EPA and the
Department of Transportation (DOT)to set joint fuel efficiency standards and
greenhouse gas standards for cars and light-duty trucks built in 2012-2016.
These groundbreaking standards, finalized in April 2010, will raise fuel
efficiency to 35.5 mpg and begin saving families money at the pump this year.
In July 2011, the President announced the next
round of standards, for Model Years 2017 – 2025, which will require
performance equivalent to 54.5 mpg or 163 grams/ mile of CO2 for cars and
light-duty trucks by Model Year 2025.  Together, the Administration’s programs
for cars and light duty trucks represent the first meaningful update to fuel
efficiency standards in three decades and will save American families $1.7
trillion dollars in fuel costs, and by 2025 result in an average fuel savings of
over $8,000 per vehicle.  Additionally, these programs will dramatically cut the
oil we consume, saving a total of 12 billion barrels of oil, and by 2025 reduce
oil consumption by 2.2 million barrels a day.  Achieving our efficiency goals
will also secure demand for innovative technologies and manufacturing that will
spur economic growth and create high-quality domestic jobs in cutting edge
industries across America.

First-ever standards for medium and heavy-duty trucks:  In
addition to historic rules for light-duty vehicles, the Administration has
announced the first-ever
fuel economy standards for medium- and heavy-duty trucks.  Under the
comprehensive new national program, trucks and buses built in 2014 through 2018
will reduce oil consumption by a projected 530 million barrels and greenhouse
gas (GHG) pollution by approximately 270 million metric tons.  The standards are
expected to yield an estimated $50 billion in net benefits over the life of
model year 2014 to 2018 vehicles, resulting in significant long-terms savings
for vehicle owners and operators.

Cutting pollution from power plants and industrial sources:
EPA finalized additional Clean Air Act protections that will slash
hundreds of thousands of tons of smokestack emissions that travel long distances
through the air leading to soot and smog, threatening the health of hundreds of
millions of Americans living downwind. The Cross-State
Air Pollution Rule will reduce air pollution (including ozone) and is
projected to prevent up to 34,000 deaths annually, producing annual estimated
net benefits in excess of $100 billion. Twenty seven states in the eastern half
of the country will work with power plants to cut air pollution under the rule,
which leverages widely available, proven and cost-effective control
technologies. Many power plants covered by the rule have already made
substantial investments in clean air technologies to reduce SO₂ and
NO_x emissions.

First national standard to reduce mercury and other toxic air
pollution from power plants: Power plants are the largest remaining
source of several toxic air pollutants – responsible for half of mercury and
more than half of acid gas emissions in the United States. In the power sector
alone, coal-fired power plants are responsible for 99 percent of mercury
emissions. In March of 2011, the Administration proposed new power plant mercury
and air toxics standards to cut harmful emissions of mercury, arsenic,
chromium, nickel and acid gases, preventing as many as 18,000 premature deaths
and 11,000 heart attacks a year. These proposed standards would also prevent up
to 5,300 hospitalizations for respiratory and cardiovascular diseasesand up to
860,000 days of work missed due to illness.  The total health and economic
benefits of this standard in 2016 would be up to $130 billion. In addition, the
Administration is putting in place standards to reduce toxic pollution from
cement plants, oil and gas extraction, and industrial boilers – steps which will
provide large public health benefits for communities across the country.

Reducing harmful air pollution by expanding cleaner alternatives and
increasing efficiency:  The Recovery Act included over $90 billion for
clean energy – the largest single clean energy investment in American
history. This funding supported programs that created over 224,500 American jobs
and tens of thousands of domestic renewable energy projects through programs
like the successful “1603” renewable energy grant program – which was
successfully extended for a year as part of the December 2010 compromise tax
agreement.  Thanks to these concerted efforts, we are on track to double
renewable energy generation by 2012.

The Administration has also demonstrated a commitment to efficiency, both in
the transportation sector and in the built environment. This includes
implementing more rigorous energy efficiency standards for commercial and
residential appliances, including microwaves, kitchen ranges, dishwashers, light
bulbs and other common appliances, and supporting building retrofits. The
Recovery Through Retrofit program is eliminating key barriers in the home
retrofit industry and the Better Buildings Initiative for commercial buildings
is striving to make this sector 20 percent more efficient by 2020.

Heather Zichal is the Deputy Assistant to the President
for Energy and Climate Change