Not in my back yard

This Ass Press article, which looks to have been reprinted in just about every newspaper in the country, talks about a letter drafted by Sen. Lamar Alexander's* (R-TN) office to the EPA. Seems the EPA wants to change rules governing how air pollution is measured in and around our national parks. Peak pollutant days would no longer be as signficant as the annual average of pollutants measured. As a result, more coal fired plants would be allowed to be built in the vicinity of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Alexander, along with Liddy Dole (R-NC) and a handful of other Senators have written a stern letter to the EPA. (Of the 4 Republicans signing the letter, 3 2 - Alexander, Dole, and John Warner (R-VA) are up for re-election in November; curiously, none of the signers currently has a text of the letter up on their websites.)

Here's my favorite part:

Alexander isn't against coal, which fuels about half the electric power generation in this country. But he worries a half dozen new coal plants are planned in Kentucky, Virginia and North Carolina, all within 200 miles of the Smokies. Thirty already operate in the region.

Here's my second favorite:

To lower $4-per-gallon-and-climbing gas prices, we have to honor the law of supply and demand. That means we have to find more, as well as use less.

. . .

States should be able to explore for more oil offshore, just as four states already do along the Gulf Coast. That would give money to the states for education, conservation, and to take care of their beaches.

One assumes that little of that drilling will be taking place off the coast of Tennessee.

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* To be honest, i had no idea that Lamar Alexander was still drawing breath, let alone serving in the US Senate. I wonder if Tennesseans had the same reaction.

UPDATE: Sen. Warner is retiring after his current term expires in January.