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Photo Credit: Keith Skelton

With the public’s health in mind, the Environmental Protection Agency (E.P.A.) proposed a stricter standard for smog-causing pollutants last Thursday. The proposition is designed to set a “primary standard of ground-level ozone of no more than .060 to .070 parts per million,” and would target regions in our nation that have the worst smog pollution such as the Northeast, Southern and Central California, and the Chicago and Houston areas. The proposal is intended to be executed over the next 20 years.

The current standard is .075 parts per million and was implemented by the Bush administration. This was an improvement to the 1997 standard of .084 parts per million set by the Clinton administration. Although there is still much progress to be made, this trend suggests that the reduction of ground-level ozone is something worth pursuing by politicians on both sides of the political spectrum.

Although the proposal would end up costing manufacturers, oil refiners and utilities anywhere from $19 billion to $90 billion a year by 2020, it is estimated that the health benefits would offset these costs, being valued at $13 billion to $100 billion a year in the same period. Regions that do not meet the new standards will face fines and loss of federal highway financing. It is estimated that the new standard, if adopted, could save as many as 12,000 lives a year from heart and lung disease, while also curbing thousands of cases of bronchitis, asthma and nonfatal heart attacks.

Although this proposition is facing opposition by Alaskan Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski, along with some conservative Democrats, their resistance will likely have little effect given the general support of the E.P.A.’s action in both the House and Senate, as well as from President Obama.

Check out the full story at the New York Times.