EYE OF THE BEHOLDER

The most difficult part about fixing this problem is that the problem has not been defined. Apparently D&S emissions are not in violation of any laws, aside from the fact that the D&S may be exempt from state and local regulation. This whole smoke problem is in the eyes of the beholders. I would submit that the very idea of coal smoke is just as offensive to some people as actually smelling it. Therefore, the remedy is anybody’s guess.
Most people have a reasonable attitude toward the environment, but there is a large number who hold a view that might be described as zero tolerance. Their attitude toward the environment is closer to a religion than to science. This attitude is exemplified in the comment by Wano Urbonas, the environmental health director of the San Juan Basin Health Department, when he said, “There’s no pollution level that’s safe.”
I’ll bet that this assumption is espoused in environmental seminars around the world, yet it has no scientific basis whatsoever. As an emotional call to arms, however, it is like a blank check to declare war on any amount of any type of air borne emission, and either ban it or tax and regulate it.
RK