Last night’s edition of John Stewart’s The Daily Show featured EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson explaining why we need to clean up coal-fired power plants. Her reason is pretty compelling (you can watch below):
“Mercury’s a neuro-toxin, it destroys our children’s brains, oftentimes before they’re born. These standards are estimated to prevent 17,000 premature deaths and 11,000 heart attacks each year.”
Serious stuff, but TDS host John Stewart still managed to crack a joke about the intense political pressure Ms Jackson faces from corporate-funded Republicans who are fighting “an epic battle… preventing these type of rules going into effect.” Jackson has been called to answer to Congress more times than any other public servant, prompting Stewart to ask if she’s ever been threatened with a tuna head in her bed.
Lisa responded that she sometimes calls Washington the “Fact-Free Zone,” that 95% of the American people see one of the roles of Government as protecting their air and water, and she’s committed to doing that.
It’s good to hear that health is the priority, and the obvious way to deliver on this priority in the U.S. is to retire those dirty coal plant and transition to clean, renewable energy sources instead.
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Lisa P. Jackson | ||||
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http://media.mtvnservices.com/mgid:cms:item:comedycentral.com:387020 |
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