License to pollute

MS NOW -  The EPA is supposed to protect Americans from pollution and industrial waste. But a newly reported plan to stop tallying the health benefits of curbing ozone and air particulates is just the latest sign that it’s more attuned to corporate needs, argues Hayes Brown. While past administrations have differed on how to calculate the value of a life lost to pollution when weighing the costs and benefits of a regulation, none has ever simply not calculated it at all. That would pave the way for repealing rules that limit pollution from coal-burning power plants, oil refineries and steel mills, hurting Americans’ health in the process. Read more.