The Brian Lehrer Show Changes to the Way the EPA Regulates Deadly Air Pollutants
Jan 13, 2026
Maxine Joselow, a climate and environment reporter for The New York Times, reveals the EPA's controversial decision to stop counting health benefits when regulating air pollutants. She discusses the implications for public health and the environment, including how this could favor industries over community well-being. Maxine dives into the historical shifts in valuing lives in policy, the legal challenges ahead, and the neglect of non-fatal health effects like asthma. The conversation highlights the tension between economic interests and public health priorities.
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EPA Drops Health Benefits From Cost-Benefit
- The EPA will stop monetizing health benefits and will focus only on industry compliance costs when writing rules.
- This reverses decades of cost-benefit practice and skews the regulatory ledger toward economic costs only.
Court Precedent May Undercut The Move
- Legal experts say this approach may make rollbacks vulnerable in court because Michigan v. EPA requires considering both costs and benefits.
- Removing benefits could thus clash with precedent and invite legal challenges.
Valuing A Human Life Has Always Mattered
- Historically administrations updated the dollar value of a life but never set it to zero; benefits typically run into the millions per life.
- The EPA's new approach is the first time benefits of saving human lives are effectively treated as zero.