Opinion: New Affordable Clean Energy Plan

President Donald Trump’s Affordable Clean Energy Plan has been met with mixed reviews over the past month.

Those whose livelihoods depend on the coal industry tend to love it. Environmentalists and many others tend to hate it.

Despite appearances, President Trump’s Affordable Clean Energy Plan is a win for both the environment and the coal industry.

At first glance, the Environmental Protection Agency’s statistics for the plan look dire. An ABC News article said EPA predicts that pollutants will increase compared to pollutant levels under President Obama’s 2015 Clean Power Plan. They also predict that heart attacks, asthma problems and more pollutant related ailments will rise.

According to EPA, 350 to 1,500 more people across America will die per year with Trump’s plan in sway rather than Obama’s.

That prediction is enough to make anyone pause, but the numbers are deceptive.

Obama’s Clean Power Plan was never put in practice. According to a New York Times article, the Supreme Court temporarily halted the law as more than 24 states, industries and others sued EPA for overstepping the established law and being too restrictive.

Arguments that there will be more emissions, disease or death under the Affordable Clean Energy Plan fall flat because the Clean Power Plan was so embroiled in legal turmoil that it never took effect. Trump’s Affordable Clean Energy Plan is a better, more effective plan than no plan.

Is it reasonable to suggest that the Affordable Clean Energy Plan could be improved to better protect the environment? Yes, absolutely.

However, it would be unreasonable to sacrifice making a change for the better now to hold out for a dubiously possible perfect plan in the future.

Ultimately, the Affordable Clean Energy Plan provides a valuable compromise that satisfies the coal companies and paves the way for future environmental improvements.