Also last year, the Public Utility Commission of Texas refused to make soot emissions a criterion for deciding whether old coal-burning power plants should be shut down or rehabilitated. It remains unclear whether the 2001 Legislature will allow the state to require cleaner fuels ahead of the national schedule, but permission was absent from an environmental reform bill that the House passed on April 19. Texas is behaving similarly toward soot, waiting for directives from Washington before it decides to take corrective action to protect Texans' health. It should not wait. There is enough evidence of a problem to justify action now, especially in Houston, which is in even greater danger of violating the soot standard than Dallas-Fort Worth.
Soot is dangerous.
Whether it comes from power plants, cement kilns or diesel equipment, it may sicken and kill. As many as a quarter-million Americans may have died already because of exposure to the tiniest particles, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council. Texas should recognize the danger. It should stop dragging its feet and ignoring the truth. It shouldn't wait for Washington to threaten or for soot levels to reach unacceptable levels before it takes decisive action for its people's good.