Too Dirty to Fail: The GOP's Ongoing War with EPA Standards

EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson has a motto for industrial plants that would be spared from new pollution limits if Republicans have their way: They are “too dirty to fail.” This comment was made by Jackson in response to the GOP who accuse the EPA of killing jobs with thier efforts to provide clean air and water for the American people.

“No credible economist links our current economic crisis — or any economic crisis — to tough clean-air and clean-water standards,” Jackson wrote.

If indeed there are any job losses they would be offset by jobs gained elsewhere, including for the workers who install and maintain pollution control equipment. Not to mention the benefits of improved air and water quality.

“If these plants continue to operate without pollution limits, as a legislative wish list from [Cantor] would allow, there will be more cases of asthma, respiratory illness and premature deaths — with no clear path to new jobs,” Jackson wrote.

“The environment is not usually a top-tier issue in a presidential election,” O’Donnell said. “But it has the potential to become one now, especially because a number of Republicans are calling for the end of EPA, or a significant cutback to it.”

The electorate may very remember that the Republicans fought for dirty air and water rather than the promise of economic renewal offered by the green economy.