On the recordJanuary 24, 2011
I just want to make one nonscientific comment. I flew this morning from DFW Airport up to Reagan Airport to attend this session of Congress. The DFW area is home to approximately 3 million people, to a number of power plants, lots of industry, electronics, general aviation, defense. I flew into Washington, which has almost no industry. The air was clear at DFW. When I came into Reagan, I looked out the window, and I thought, man. I mean, I don't want to be disrespectful to our international friends over in Poland, but it did remind me of the last time, which was several years ago, I flew into Warsaw, and the air was so thick you could see it. I don't know what the issue is here in the Washington region today, but when we flew into Reagan, it was noticeably hazier and browner flying in than it was when I left DFW, where the air was absolutely crystal clear. Now, that's nonscientific, but I would invite anybody who thinks we've got an air quality problem in Texas to go to Dallas or to go to Houston. Drive out along the Houston ship channel. Go down to Corpus Christi, outside the major refineries on the gulf coast, and you'll see a success story. What you won't see is air pollution that's caused by industry in Texas. Their compliance record is excellent, and they've got the facts to back it up.
