Court Challenge Reverses EPA’s Weakening of Smog Rules
A coalition of environmental groups and individual states cheered last week when a federal appeals court overturned a decision by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to weaken limits on smog pollution generated by large power plants and factories in urban areas across the country. Besides fouling the air and decreasing visibility, high levels of smog—consisting of a mix of pollutants, including ground-level ozone—have been shown to aggravate human respiratory and cardiovascular problems and lead to more hospitalizations.