NPR experiences: The U.S. Supreme Court docket is about to listen to arguments in an vital environmental case as we speak. It can take into account whether or not to pause a federal rule obligating states to be “good neighbors.” On the coronary heart of the dispute is a provision of the Clear Air Act that protects folks and states topic to air pollution that floats downwind from different states. These “downwind states” wrestle to satisfy federal air high quality requirements, and their residents can face well being issues as a result of air pollution from afar.
I might assume a greater query is why particular person states are at liberty to determine lesser requirements than others within the first place. Can’t these mandates be made at a federal stage? A coal-fired energy plant in Colorado emits the identical deadly array of greenhouse gases, heavy metals, and radioactive isotopes as one in Alabama.
