Bills in Congress Would Protect Fossil Fuel Industry Over Residents
Legislation could protect fossil fuel companies from liability for damages caused by storms, wildfires and other climate-fueled disasters. Inside Climate News quoted Dr. Moench, “Scientists have long known about the impacts of air pollution on human health… prolonged exposure to ozone pollution can have a similar impact on a person’s lungs to smoking cigarettes. The idea that life-saving, health-protecting clean air standards burden people and penalize them is just nuts.”
A member of a Texas Sierra Club chapter said ““It just means you’re going to have more sick people and have more of an impact on health care costs, more early deaths, more problems with asthma,” he said. “We feel like, as a government, we should be trying to protect our people and have good air quality, not look for excuses not to do our jobs.” The same is true for Utah.
Residents should have the right to protect themselves from impacts of irresponsible industries, especially those with a track record of bulldozing communities and disregarding the consequences. Our lawmakers choosing to protect the pockets of these massive industries rather than the rights of their constituents is shameful.