Struggling for Air: Power Plants and the “War on Coal”

By Richard L. Revesz ’79 and Jack Lienke

Published Feb. 3, 2016

When Congress passed the Clean Air Act in 1970, existing power plants were largely exempt from direct federal regulation — a regulatory practice known as “grandfathering.” Struggling for Air: Power Plants and the “War on Coal”chronicles the political compromises that gave rise to grandfathering and its deadly consequences, and the repeated attempts by presidential administrations of both parties to make things right.

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PAW’s December 2025 cover, with a photo of Michael Park ’98.
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Judge Michael Park ’98; shifts in DEI initiatives; a night at the new art museum.