In today’s Wall Street Journal, the editorial board warns against a rule proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency to limit the amount of mercury and other airborne pollutants that power plants emit. Not surprisingly, the costs far outweigh the benefits:
According to the EPA’s own numbers, every dollar in direct benefits costs $1,847. The reason is that electric generation—yes, even demon coal—results in negligible quantities of air pollutants like mercury. And mercury is on the decline: In 2005, the entire U.S. coal fleet emitted 26% less than the EPA predicted.
Read the whole thing here.