Letter of the week: Clean energy needs

I am very disappointed that Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster is joining a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan.

He cites Missouri’s “competitive advantage in low consumer and industrial electrical rates” but ignores the costs of burning coal. In addition to its global-warming emissions, it emits mercury and other forms of pollution. Those have costs, too — health-care problems and medical costs, lost work time and polluted air and ground water.

The Clean Power Plan was designed to allow states to make individualized plans. Our costs will not skyrocket, but they will increase gradually. It is flexible enough that states such as Missouri that have maintained a coal dependence for too long will have time to adapt.

And we need to recognize that clean power creates new jobs and stimulates economies. Most important, global warming must be addressed now.

While those of us in the middle of the United States are enjoying our cheap air conditioning, coastal and island communities are endangered, coral reefs are eroding, and extreme storms, droughts, floods and wildfires are damaging communities everywhere.

We need to act now.

Jane L. VanSant, of Kansas City, retired from Network Rehab Services. She is a member of the Sierra Club and a founding member of Citizens for Environmental Action in Warrensburg, Mo.

This story was originally published November 15, 2015 at 7:00 AM with the headline "Letter of the week: Clean energy needs."