Don't blame EPA for industry's problems -- Lisa Jackson

U.S. EPA's proposals that would limit emissions from coal-fired power plants are not to blame for the industry's economic miseries, according to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson. "So in my opinion the problem for coal right now is entirely economic," Jackson told Grist Magazine in an interview published today. "The natural gas that this country has and is continuing to develop is cheaper right now on average," she said. "And so people who are making investment decisions are not unmindful of that, how could you expect them to be?" Gas prices, coupled with an unusually mild winter and spring in the eastern United States and lower-than-expected electricity use, have dealt the coal industry a blow. Earlier this month, the Energy Information Administration said coal's share of power generation dropped to 34 percent, the lowest level since the 1970s. All this is happening, she said, "at the same time these rules are coming in place that make it clear that you cannot continue to operate a 30-, 40- or 50-year-old plant and not control the pollution that comes with it."