Glen Hooks, Glen.Hooks@sierraclub.org, 501-744-2674
LITTLE ROCK - Donald Trump will sign an executive order today to begin the process of repealing several Obama-era executive actions tackling the climate crisis and protecting clean air and water. Trump’s order includes steps to begin the process of dismantling the Clean Power Plan and attacks on protections to clean air and clean water.
The Clean Power Plan protects the health of Arkansas’ families and communities by curbing dangerous carbon pollution and reducing other toxic pollutants like mercury, nitrogen oxides, and sulfur dioxide.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has estimated that, by 2030, the Clean Power Plan would prevent 150,000 asthma attacks and up to 6,600 premature deaths annually, providing between $55 billion to $93 billion of benefits per year.
EPA also projects that in 2030 when the plan is fully implemented, electricity bills would be roughly 8 percent lower than they would been without the actions in state plans. That would save Americans about $8 on an average monthly residential electricity bill.
In response to today’s news, Glen Hooks, Director of the Sierra Club’s Arkansas Chapter, released the following statement:
“Trump and EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt are doing what they do best - enriching their friends in oil and gas while rolling back protections on clean air and water for the rest of us. The roll back of the Clean Power Plan and other clean air and clean water protections will cost us our lives and our health, as well as money and savings for Arkansans who are sick of propping up Entergy’s aging and dirty coal plants with their hard-earned money.
“No matter Trump or Pruitt’s shortsighted actions, coal is on the decline in Arkansas. The economics do not favor these aging plants. We’ll keep moving ahead on a community level to organize and build a thriving clean energy economy in Arkansas and a responsible path forward with new, family-sustaining opportunities for communities historically dependent on coal.”
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