Mitt Romney says he “didn’t inhale” when he was in government. But key Romney environmental adviser Jeff Holmstead apparently did as Bush EPA air chief.
In “Scientists Find New Dangers in Tiny but Pervasive Particles in Air Pollution” about the alleged dangers of airborne fine particluate matter (PM2.5), the New York Times reports:
… “There’s no doubt this is important stuff,” said Jeffrey R. Holmstead, who ran the Environmental Protection Agency’s air and radiation program during the administration of President George W. Bush. “It may be harder than we thought” to clean the fine particles out of the air and protect public health, he said, “but if we really know what’s causing it, we can focus our efforts more.”
Mr. Holmstead added that the findings could significantly affect the future design and implementation of air-pollution control strategies and that regulators would have to rethink the models that inform air quality rules…
Our air is clean and safe — and there is no evidence to the contrary.
Regardless of whether it’s Holmstead’s desire to fit in with politically correct environmentalism or his unfamiliarity with the relevant science, his aiding and abetting the New York Times scare Ameica about the safety of ambient air won’t help the Romney campaign or possible administration.
By the way, Holmstead is also undercutting Congressional GOP efforts to rein in the EPA’s air quality regulatory overreach.
We would also hate to be represented in litigation against the EPA by someone who actually subscribes to the agency’s radical agenda.
Read Steve Milloy’s Washington Times commentary “EPA’s statistics not science, but nonsense.”