Air Quality vs. Economic Development

Those lousy air quality standards could hurt economic development! With the news that Madison, Milwaukee and Green Bay are not meeting EPA air quality standards, one of the first things mentioned in the AP article is how it affects economic development. In fact 6 Wisconsin counties are 6 of 215 in 25 states that are not meeting these standards. "Brown, Columbia, Dane, Racine, Waukesha and Milwaukee counties have unacceptable levels of fine particulate matter in the air or contribute to problems in neighboring areas."

What I find interesting about this AP article is that it provides the following information:

The pollution is largely caused by coal-fired power plants and diesel engines and creates health problems such as asthma, lung disease and heart problems. The EPA estimates tens of thousands of premature deaths are linked to sooty air every year.

And then the state's response is as follows:

"Non-attainment designations do in fact inhibit business growth and development, and that's not good for the state of Wisconsin," Shea said. "We think that sort of burden on the state's businesses is unnecessary. It would be another thing if the state hadn't been moving forward with regulations that significantly limit air emissions in the state, but we have."

So how is it that we have a republican federal administration protecting the health of the community and the Democratic state administration protecting businesses? Sometimes, is so hard to tell which is which by what the do and how it is reported.