Visiting Fellow Joel M. Schwartz

The debate over power plants in Texas is based on false premises. Much of the public has the mistaken impression that building new coal-fired power plants necessarily means more air pollution. In fact, steady advances in technology are decoupling fossil-fuel energy and air pollution. That is why air pollution continues to reach new record lows in Texas and the nation, even as Americans burn increasing amounts of coal, oil, and natural gas to power their homes, vehicles, businesses, and factories.

From 1980 to 2005, even as coal consumption increased more than 60 percent and driving nearly doubled, air pollution of all kinds sharply declined. Polls show most Americans are unaware of this astounding progress. The likely reason is press coverage of air quality issues that consistently fails to provide a realistic picture of air pollution levels and trends.

The Texas air quality debate has intensified in the battle over whether Texans should be allowed to build coal-fired power plants as one means to meet increasing demand for electricity. The outcome of this battle will significantly affect whether the state can produce enough electricity to meet its citizens' needs and how much consumers will pay for their electricity.

Texans can continue to meet their electricity needs by the most cost-effective means available, while continuing to reduce air pollution. When alternative energy sources or conservation measures make economic sense, consumers will adopt them voluntarily. The fact that consumers must be forced--through subsidies, generation mandates, efficiency requirements and the like--to buy energy from nontraditional sources is a sign that they don't make economic sense on their own terms. . . .

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Joel M. Schwartz is a visiting fellow at AEI.