TPO41 Q1

The reading and the lecture are both about coal ash which is produced from burning coal and contains harmful chemicals that are dangerous for the environment. The author of reading feels that creating new regulations for handling and storing coal ash is not required and in fact, might have adverse implications. The lecturer challenges the claims made by the author. She is of the opinion that more stringent rules should be set up for controlling and storing coal ash and presents 3 strong reasons.
To begin with, the author argues that the power company representatives note that effectual environmental regulations already exist. The lecturer, however, rebuts this by mentioning that these rules are insufficient. These regulations exist only for new land fields and not require for old ones which actually harm the environment more. For example, harmful chemicals leaked into groundwater so definitely polluted consuming water. Therefore more rigorous new regulations should prevent damages in all aspects of coal ash disposal sites.
Secondly, the writer mentions that some analysts anticipate that creating strict new regulations about holding ash coal might disappoint the recycling of coal ash into other products. The lecturer elaborates on this by bringing up the point that creating new rules doesn’t mean that consumers won’t buy these products. For example about mercury, it’s been safely and favorably recycled over 50 years with trivial concerns.
Finally, the author posits that rigid new regulations might result in a considerable raising in disposal and handling cost for the power company. In contrast, the lecturer notes that the cost estimates 50 billion dollars which is a lot but it would be an increase in electricity bill about one percent which is not a great deal. So it’s worth the extra cost of having a cleaner environment.