Petition: The EPA Is Dropping the Dollar Value of Human Lives From Its Pollution Math

For decades, when the EPA set limits on air Pollution, it weighed the cost of regulations against a dollar value placed on the lives and health those rules would save. In early 2026, the agency moved to drop that calculation for two of the most harmful pollutants — fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and ozone — counting the cost to industry but no longer assigning a monetary value to the resulting deaths and illnesses avoided. Both pollutants are linked to asthma, heart disease, and premature death. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has disputed that characterization, saying the agency still “considers” health impacts but won’t monetize them; critics counter that leaving health benefits out of the math makes it far easier to justify weaker rules on power plants, refineries, and factories. Please sign the petition urging the EPA to put people first.

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Whether or not a life is assigned a dollar figure, the health stakes are real — dirtier air means more asthma attacks, hospital visits, and early deaths, especially for children, older adults, and vulnerable communities. Sign the petition calling on EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin to keep the health benefits of clean-air rules fully in the equation. One Green Planet covers the health toll of dirty air in 11 diseases linked to climate change, and you can read a detailed breakdown via the Union of Concerned Scientists.

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