Sharing power -- and pollution

Laws are really pesky sometimes, aren't they? We want everyone else to follow them, but when they get in our way they seem so unnecessary. But we're part of a society, and most of the time we recognize that for the good of society we should just suck it up and follow them. Sadly, some energy corporations are moving their power plants outside the country to skirt the very laws the United States has put in place to regulate the industry.\nThe laws that are pesky to many energy producers are environmental regulations, pollution standards and the like. The United States, while being far from perfect, has recognized the great harm that industrial pollution can create. Therefore, the federal government and state governments placed certain restrictions on pollution from power plants, among other industries. \nOne state with strict environmental standards for power plants is California. The people of California decided on certain minimum environmental standards for power plants, but the will of Californians, and Americans in general, is being undermined.\nCalifornia has had its fair share of trouble with energy. Brownouts are just one manifestation of the state's energy shortage. To counter this shortage, many new power plants have sprung up in California. These plants are forced to live up to state standards and meticulously follow many state guidelines. These regulations certainly don't make it fun to build a power plant in California, but they do ensure the environment is not forgotten when new plants are built.\nPower plants are built at a reasonable pace and environmental standards are being enforced. It sounds like a decent situation. Sadly, some energy companies are becoming wise to the fact that energy can be imported. According to a recent New York Times article, two new power plants that will pump most of their energy to California have popped up on the Mexican side of the southern U.S. border. While at first glance this seems a benign proposition, these new plants raise a troubling scenario.\nEnvironmental standards and enforcement of these standards in Mexico are minimal compared to the standards in the United State and California. Companies have to go through little regulation to build a plant in Mexico. The larger of the two new power plants the Times mentioned decided to ignore Californian standards. (The smaller one has, thankfully, followed the set of standards.) The plant, which is so large it could provide power for more than one million homes, will put an estimated 3,800 tons of pollutants into the air annually (a significant amount), according to concerned California officials. \nThis massive amount of pollution will find its way to California and other parts of the United States. This is why many California officials (including its two Senators and some Congressmen representing border areas) complained to the federal administration, which put its seal of approval on the projects. They point out that, as a result of being able to subvert U.S. environmental legislation, the air we breathe will be dirtier.\nUntil the United States and the world are able to move to more sustainable sources of energy, old-fashioned power plants remain a necessary evil. The one tool we have to regulate this evil environmental law, is now being subverted. Our government should not be so cavalier to allow energy to be imported if the energy source ignores U.S. environmental standards. If we don't strictly regulate incoming energy, U.S. environmental laws will become meaningless.