Dear Dirty America

Our dear dirty president has caved in to the demands of lobbyists and corporate America who are against new regulations that would have reduced smog and air pollution.

Give us the dear dirty facts, Huffington Post:

President Barack Obama on Friday scrapped his administration’s controversial plans to tighten smog rules, bowing to the demands of congressional Republicans and some business leaders.

Obama overruled the Environmental Protection Agency – and the unanimous opinion of its independent panel of scientific advisers – and directed administrator Lisa Jackson to withdraw the proposed regulation to reduce concentrations of ground-level ozone, smog’s main ingredient. The decision rests in part on reducing regulatory burdens and uncertainty for businesses at a time of rampant uncertainty about an unsteady economy.

“The Obama administration is caving to big polluters at the expense of protecting the air we breathe,” said Gene Karpinski, the president of the League of Conservation Voters. “This is a huge win for corporate polluters and huge loss for public health.”

In his statement, the president said that withdrawing the regulation did not reflect a weakening of his commitment to protecting public health and the environment.

“I will continue to stand with the hardworking men and women at the EPA as they strive every day to hold polluters accountable and protect our families from harmful pollution,” he said.

The decision mirrors one made by Obama’s predecessor, President George W. Bush. EPA scientists had recommended a stricter standard to better protect public health. Bush personally intervened after hearing complaints from electric utilities and other affected industries. His EPA set a standard of 75 parts per billion, stricter than one adopted in 1997, but not as strong as federal scientists said was needed to protect public health.

It seems clear that Obama is not committed to protecting public health and the environment, and any statement he makes otherwise is sloppy malarkey.