April, 05 2023, 12:05pm EDT
EPA Looks to Strengthen Critical Public Health Protections Against Mercury, Other Toxic Pollutants from Power Plants
Statement by Julie McNamara, Union of Concerned Scientists
Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a proposed rulemaking related to strengthening the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS), a foundational rule protecting people from mercury and other hazardous air pollutants released by coal- and oil-fired power plants. To date, MATS has delivered enormous gains for public health, dramatically reducing emissions of mercury and other air toxics. Still, hazardous air pollution from these power plants remains a public health concern and EPA is right to revisit these standards, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS).
Below is a statement by Julie McNamara, the deputy policy director of the Climate and Energy Program at UCS.
“We welcome EPA’s proposed rulemaking to update MATS and encourage the rigorous, comprehensive evaluation of the ongoing risks and harms of toxic pollution from coal- and oil-fired power plants, and the readily available tools for addressing them.
“Despite years of industry protestations, MATS yielded rapid and dramatic reductions of mercury pollution and other air toxics from coal-fired power plants when it finally entered into full effect in 2016. These pollution reductions have saved lives that would have otherwise been cut short and improved lives that would have otherwise been permanently harmed—including harm to babies even before birth. But for all the good that MATS has brought, we must also reckon with the fact that all these towering benefits could and should have happened sooner, and lives were harmed in the time between.
“EPA cannot repeat that same delay today. While MATS has driven enormous benefits to date, the fact remains that coal- and oil-fired power plants still release pollution that hurts people and the environment, and it is incumbent on EPA to act.
“We have the resources to power our economy in a clean and cost-effective way while protecting people’s health and the environment; we should not accept anything less.”
The Union of Concerned Scientists is the leading science-based nonprofit working for a healthy environment and a safer world. UCS combines independent scientific research and citizen action to develop innovative, practical solutions and to secure responsible changes in government policy, corporate practices, and consumer choices.
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Ron Insana, a finance reporter and a former hedge fund manager, told MS Now's Stephanie Ruhle on Tuesday night that there is a "split economy" in which growth is being driven primarily by spending from the top 20% of income earners, whom he noted accounted for 63% of all spending in the economy.
On the other side, Insana pointed to retail sales data that painted a very different picture for those on the lower end of the income scale.
"When you look at lower income individuals, nearly half of them are using 'buy-now-pay-later' for their holiday shopping," he said. "So we have this real split... People at the top are doing fine, people in the middle and lower income brackets are struggling a bit, to say the least."
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Baker also said that most of the gains in gross domestic income showed up at the top of the income ladder, while workers' income growth remained stagnant.
The theme of a split economy also showed up in an analysis from Politico financial services reporter Sam Sutton published on Wednesday, which cited recent data from Bank of America showing that the bank's "top account holders saw take-home pay climb 4% over the last year, while income growth for poorer households grew just 1.4%."
Sutton said that this divergence in fortunes between America's wealthy and everyone else was showing up in polling that shows US voters sour on the state of the economy.
"In survey after survey, a majority of Americans say they’re straining under the pressure of rising living expenses and a softening job market," Sutton said. "The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston says low-income consumers have 'substantially' higher levels of credit card debt than they did before the pandemic. Even as growth and asset prices soar, Trump’s approval ratings are sagging."
Economist Paul Krugman on Tuesday argued in his Substack newsletter that one reason for this large disparity in economic outcomes has to do with the US labor market, which has ground to a halt in recent months, lowering workers' options for employment and thus lowering their ability to push prospective employers for higher wages.
"Trump may claim that we are economically 'the hottest country in the world,' but the truth is that we last had a hot labor market back in 2023-4," Krugman explained. "At this point, by contrast, we have a 'frozen' job market in which workers who aren’t already employed are having a very hard time finding new jobs, a sharp contrast with the Biden years during which workers said it was very easy to find a new job."
None of these caveats about the latest gross domestic product (GDP) data stopped US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick from going on Fox News on Tuesday night and falsely claiming that a 4.3% rise in GDP meant that "Americans overall—all of us—are going to earn 4.3% more money."
Lutnick: The US economy grew 4.3%. What that means is that Americans overall—all of us—are going to earn 4.3% more money. pic.twitter.com/SIFi99NRBX
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George Anton, the director of operations for the Latin patriarchate in Gaza, estimated that the number of Christians killed so far is at least 53, with many dying "because we could not reach hospitals or provide medicine, especially elderly people with chronic illnesses."
In the past, Muslims in Gaza have joined Christian neighbors for the annual lighting of Gaza City's Christmas tree and other festivities, and churches have displayed elaborate lights and decorations in their courtyards for the Christmas season.
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“We are trying to be happy from inside.”
Palestinian children are decorating Gaza’s only Catholic church for Christmas celebrations for the first time after 2 years of genocide. Pope Francis used to call the Holy Family Church almost every day until his death. pic.twitter.com/dtCdFjcTyo
— AJ+ (@ajplus) December 24, 2025
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