NYT Claims Ditching Obama-Era Rules Could Kill 1,400 per Year, Leaves out Important Details

The New York Times sparked a social media ruckus when it reported Tuesday that the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposal to replace Obama-era coal plant regulations could lead to as many as 1,400 premature deaths a year from air pollution.

Liberal journalists went wild. “EPA admits Trump would sacrifice thousands of American lives to save a few coal plants,” ThinkProgress claimed. . .

At the end of the day, EPA is just estimating premature deaths based on current epidemiological studies that are still the subject of debate.

EPA’s regulatory analysis for the Affordable Clean Energy rule lays out three scenarios for how the agency expects coal-fired power plants to comply with more lenient regulations. In contrast to the Obama-era Clean Power Plan, new rules allow coal plants to increase heat-rate efficiency to cut emissions.

The New York Times reported that under the scenario that EPA “pegged as the most likely to occur, the health effects would be significant.” EPA “predicts its plan will see between 470 and 1,400 premature deaths annually by 2030 because of increased rates of microscopic airborne particulates known as PM 2.5,” The Times reported. (Read more from “NYT Claims Ditching Obama-Era Rules Could Kill 1,400 per Year, Leaves out Important Details” HERE)

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