Skip to Content
Streetsblog Los Angeles home
Streetsblog Los Angeles home
Log In
Air Quality

Think Tank Responds to Report on Hidden Costs of Fossil Fuels: Yawn

The National Academy of Science's new report
on the hidden health costs of U.S. reliance on fossil fuels has
generated high-profile media coverage around the country, most of it focusing on the $62 billion annual estimate for coal rather than the $56 billion projection for vehicles.

CarExhaust.jpg(Photo: SILive.com)

But Greenwire's write-up is particularly interesting, if only for its responses from the National Mining Association and the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a conservative and climate-denying D.C. think tank that has taken $2 million from Exxon Mobil this decade. From the Greenwire piece (sub.req'd.):

"Energy production from fossil fuels causes air
pollution, which damages people's health and welfare. That was big news
-- in the 1970s," Marlo Lewis, a senior fellow at the Competitive
Enterprise Institute, wrote in an e-mail. "Did we really need a
346-page study with more than 50 expert contributors to tell us that?" ...

"That aside, without energy, we'd all freeze in the dark," Lewis added.
"The net cost of not having energy vastly outweighs the supposed
'hidden' costs."

Interestingly,
Lewis' quip about "the net cost of not having energy" was similar in
substance from the that of the Mining Association, which asserted that
"the health and welfare benefits" of burning coal for electricity
"clearly outweigh the cost."

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog Los Angeles

Support Streetsblog Los Angeles

Five stories that Streetsblog L.A. Editor Joe Linton enjoyed covering this year - and a request for you, dear reader, to support the Streetsblog team's work!

December 4, 2024

This Week In Livable Streets

CicLAvia in the West Valley, Metro board meeting, Forest Lawn Drive, Vermont Transit Corridor, and more

December 2, 2024
See all posts