A bill to cut the power plant emissions that cause acid rain would save 10,000 lives a year while increasing the average household electricity bill by only $1 per month, according to a report by the U.S. EPA. The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Sherwood Boehlert (R-N.Y.) and Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-N.Y.), would reduce nitrogen oxide emissions by 70 percent beyond the levels mandated in the 1990 Clean Air Act and sulfur dioxide emissions by 50 percent. The EPA analysis of the bill found that it would cost $5 billion a year to implement, but would have $60 billion a year in health benefits. Boehlert: “This isn’t just ammunition for our bill, it’s a whole arsenal.” But the measure has virtually no chance of passing this year, as the legislative session is winding to an end.
