Air Pollution in Schwarzenegger Slams GOP-Led Bills

Air Pollution

In "Schwarzenegger slams GOP-led bills to block pollution rules," Geman (2011) addresses Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's reaction to the recent potential threats to the Clean Air Act. Congress is "attacking" the Clean Air Act, according to Schwarzenegger, with "more than a dozen proposals in Congress to limit enforcement of our clean-air rules, create special-interest loopholes, and attempt to reverse scientific findings." According to the governor, the Clean Air Act has helped California improve its air quality and the health of its residents. Schwarzenegger quipped, "when he came to California in the late 1960s, poor air quality would cause his eyes to water, while the air quality is much better now thanks to the Clean Air Act… Today, I have tears in my eyes again, but for a very different reason. Some in Washington are threatening to pull the plug on this success," (Geman 2011). The Clean Air Act is a mandate of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate emissions such as "mercury, dioxins and other pollutants," (Geman 2011).

Schwarzenegger is lambasting a recent Congressional vote, in which the House of Representatives voted 255-172 "to nullify EPA's power to regulate greenhouse gases," (Geman 2011). The measure entailed "19 Democrats joining Republicans in backing the measure (Geman 2011). However, the attacks on the EPA are generally Republican-backed including those that would set "air toxics standards for boilers and utilities" in the interest of preserving jobs (Geman 2011). Governor Schwarzenegger, though, is a Republican who firmly supports the Clean Air Act and other regulatory measures that ensure economic growth plus environmental responsibility. According to Schwarzenegger, the Clean Air Act has been a boon not just for the California environment but for the state's economy too. With the Clean Air Act, the state has not lost jobs but gained them. Schwarzenegger cites "innovation and new technologies that have created hundreds of thousands of new jobs and billions in clean-energy investment," and also notes that air pollution leads to "more sick days, and thus hurts productivity," (cited by Geman 2011).

The Governator is correct. The way to stimulate economic growth is by investing vigorously into emerging technologies, innovation, research and development rather than taking the giant step backwards that Congress just did. Congress has just expressed a desire to hamper the United States economy by supporting outmoded technologies, technologies that will come to symbolize the backwardness and ignorance of the American people. Such decisions are placing the American economy on a dangerous downward spiral, making the country unable to compete in a global environment with increased competitiveness and innovation.