Emissions cause permit rejection

To the editor:On Oct. 18, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment became the first government agency in the United States to cite carbon dioxide emissions as the reason for rejecting an air permit for proposed coal-fired power plants. This comes at a time when Congress is attempting to finalize an energy policy that will begin to shift the nation away from reliance on fossil fuels toward more use of renewable sources in an effort to reduce our impact on climate change.

While changes in public policy and government priorities are badly needed, these events should also prompt us to start making relatively painless (and cost-saving) changes in our own lives that will help make a difference. We can all resolve to do such things as install more energy-efficient lighting, turn out lights when we leave a room, install power strips to turn off "always on" appliances and dry clothes outside on sunny days.

If enough of us make these simple changes, we can help to reduce the demand for electricity so that new power plants such as the ones proposed for Kansas would be unnecessary.

ROBERT ZELLER, Cape Girardeau