We at GE are fortunate to have over a dozen former executives working at top positions in the EPA, which has permitted us to continue to build our locomotives and jet engines even though the produce higher levels of particulates than other builders. CAT has given up the over the road engine production completely, you can't get a CAT in a truck anymore. EMD is going to have major problems as the EPA has arranged standards that the 710 can't meet, even though overall it is a cleaner burning engine in part due to the lack of turbo lag. But certain powerful but small lobbying groups, backed mainly by rich celebs. and certain billionairs who are positioned to get even richer marketing carbon credits (Al Gore and others) are pushing for more and more and at some point we
are not, no matter who, going to be able to burn coal, oil or natural gas. It's not a political statement, just the facts, we are currently on a track where things are going to get pretty dark.
And, at the rate it's going, it will be sooner rather than later. In the mean time, GE is positioned, thanks to our former bosses, to last the longest and get the richest. It's simple physics, energy and power has to come from something, it isn't magic, and there has to be a byproduct of that energy and power production. Even windmills and solar panels produce pollution, mostly during their production and installation, but also during their upkeep, and they have to produce energy longer than their useful lives to offset that. It's just simple physics.