Recently, the Obama administration announced the completion of an important safeguard to protect public health and curb the impacts of climate change. The Cleaner Gasoline and Vehicles Standard will reduce sulfur content in gasoline, cleaning up the air and helping save lives in the process.

The gasoline standard will clean up gasoline-powered vehicles to levels equivalent of taking 33 million cars off the road.

Thanks to that safeguard, nearly every car on the road will emit less climate and air pollution. Cleaner gasoline and vehicles will help reduce ozone and particulate matter. According to the American Lung Association, there will be 19,000 fewer asthma attacks; nearly 300,000 fewer days when parents can’t go to work or when kids miss school; and even 2,000 fewer premature deaths as a result of that life-saving safeguard.

It’s a win-win for everyone.

While it is a strong move forward, carbon pollution from the nation’s power plants contribute even more to climate change and air pollution than cars and trucks. Power plants account for 40 percent of the carbon pollution in the United States every year.

Right now, mercury, arsenic, lead, soot and other pollution from power plant smokestacks are limited by law, but not carbon pollution — the key driver of climate change.

That is wrong.

Setting sensible carbon pollution standards for new and existing power plants makes sense and is the right thing to do.

I urge Maine Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King to support the EPA’s CO2 standard for both existing and future power plants.

Stephan Drane, Auburn

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