Mr. Chairman, reliable power underpins a healthy economy, but it can also be a major source of environmental pollution. Power plants are the largest industrial source of nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, mercury, and carbon dioxide. These pollutants cause a wide range of severe public health and environmental problems, including global climate change, premature mortality, developmental and neurological damage, increased asthma, and loss of aquatic and forest ecosystems.
We do have programs for controlling the air emissions of power plants, but the programs are fragmented and incomplete. They are, at the same time, less protective of public health and more costly than necessary. I believe public health, the environment, and industry could all benefit from a prudent reform of these air pollution programs. I applaud Chairman Smith for his leadership in such reform. I would urge him to use, as his primary measure of success, the extent to which his reforms demonstrably improve public health and the environment.
I must, in particular, salute Chairman Smith for including carbon dioxide among the pollutants addressed in his reform efforts. Global climate change is probably the most daunting environmental challenge facing us today, and carbon dioxide, of course, is the principal greenhouse gas. Senator Smith's efforts are among the boldest we've seen undertaken to meet the global warming challenge.
Finally, I am proud today to introduce to the subcommittee Mr. Frank Cassidy, President and Chief Operating Officer of PSE&G; Power LLC. PSE&G; Power is the power generation affiliate of Public Service Electric and Gas Company, New Jersey's largest electric and gas utility companies and one of the largest combined utilities in the nation. I'm pleased to note that Mr. Cassidy is a native son of New Jersey. He holds an electrical engineering degree from New Jersey Institute of Technology and an MBA from Rutgers University.
Mr. Cassidy has more than 30 years of experience with PSE&G; and its affiliated companies. Prior to being named president of PSE&G; Power, he served as President of PSE&G; Energy Technologies, which is a retail energy marketer. He also served PSE&G; as Senior Vice President for Fossil Generation and Vice President for Transmission. He knows how to make power, move it, and sell it. I consider PSE&G; one of the environmental leaders of the industry, and I'm proud to have the company represented here today by Mr. Cassidy.
Mr. Chairman, and members of the subcommittee, I look forward to his testimony and the testimony of the other witnesses.