Catholic News Service: “The head of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development joined with others in praising a new federal rule to cut down on the amount of toxins emitted from coal- and oil-fired plants.

“It just makes good sense to want to have clean air for our children and families to breathe and for future generations,” said a statement by Bishop Stephen E. Blaire of Stockton, Calif., issued Dec. 21, the date the new EPA rules on toxins were unveiled.

“Children, inside and outside the womb, are uniquely vulnerable to environmental hazards and exposure to toxic pollutants in the environment,” he said. “Their bodies, behaviors and size leave them more exposed than adults to such health hazards.”

The EPA rule, which has been in the works since 1990, is intended to cut mercury, arsenic and other toxins by up to 90 percent by 2016, the year the rule would be fully implemented.”