The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will hold a hearing today in Philadelphia on a proposal to clean up gasoline and automobile emissions. The session is set for 10 a.m.
at the Sonesta Hotel, 1800 Market St. A second hearing is set for Monday in Chicago.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reports:
The rules, which mandate cleaner fuels and some new vehicle technologies, are aimed at reducing soot, sulfur, and nitrogen oxide emissions.
"’We’re looking at automobiles and fuels as a system, " said ‘Christopher Grundler, director of the EPA’s Office of Transportation and Air Quality.
The EPA says the modifications will add a penny a gallon to the cot of making gasoline beginning in 2017 and $130 to the cost of a vehicle by 2025.
But a study done on behalf of the American Petroleum Institute estimates the rule could increase gasoline prices by six to nine cents per gallon. Conservative advocacy groups say the new rules will unduly burden consumers.
The government says reducing the sulfur content of fuel will prolong the life of engine components, including catalytic converters. But the big benefit is cleaner air and improved public health.
By 2030, the EPA estimates, the reductions will prevent up to 2,400 premature deaths a year, 23,000 cases of respiratory ailments in children, and 3,200 hospital admissions and asthma-related emergency-room visits.
Read the entire story here.
Related environmental news stories:
$838,000 civil penalty issued in emissions case – Albuquerque Journal (subscription)
UN to Issue Guidelines for Reporting Black Carbon Emissions – Bloomberg
A way to curb global warming: Suck carbon emissions right out of the air? – CS Monitor
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