NEWS FLASH

Scientist who asked Romney about coal pollution responds: ‘Romney cannot pick and choose’ | In the 1970s, while working as a scientist and consultant at Arthur D. Little, Inc., Anthony Samsel was part of the team that developed the initial techniques and methods for air quality sampling for the Environmental Protection Agency. Last week, he attended a Derry, NH, town hall with Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. In answer to Samsel’s questions about the issues relating to EPA regulations and coal-fired power plants, Romney stated: ‘We have made a mistake, is what I believe, in saying that the EPA should regulate carbon emissions. I don’t think that was the intent of the original legislation, and I don’t think carbon is a pollutant in the sense of harming our bodies.’”

In a blog post at the Mother Nature Network, the retired scientist responds: “All power plant emissions are regulated by the EPA. Mr. Romney cannot pick and choose which ones he thinks are important for them to regulate and which ones he and industry wish to control. That is clearly not in the interest of public health and a conflict of interest for corporate agendas. The Clean Air Act of 1970 (CAA) has a 40-year track record of using sound science to save lives, protect human health and safeguard our environment.”