The Navajo Nation and the Clean Power Plan

A lot has been written in this space about the potential downsides of the Clean Power Plan (CPP), which is currently being litigated in the courts: rising electricity costs, potential reliability challenges and a fundamental encroachment of federal power into an area long regulated by the states, just to name a few. Of course, these risks come with virtually no impact on global temperatures.

As is well known, if a state or the federal government imposes overly onerous regulations or adopts policies that drive up energy costs, the effects will soon be felt throughout the entire economy. Food, medicine and other household goods will become more expensive virtually overnight, disproportionately affecting those of lower socioeconomic statuses.

One of the great national sins has been the historic maltreatment of Native American populations. Unfortunately, but perhaps unsurprisingly, one such native community – the Navajo Nation – expects to be hurt by the CPP. The Texas Public Policy Foundation has recently released a poignant video worth watching that shows just how important the Navajo Generating Station – one of the coal-fired power plants that could be affected by the CPP – is to the Navajo Nation.

If CPP is fully implemented, such plants could be closed for good, harming many of the most vulnerable people in America.