The NC GOP doesn't like science. It tells them that man-made climate change is causing sea level rise, so they outlaw the use of scientific projections of sea level rise.

Now, after science tells them that reducing air pollution save lives, they want to stop monitoring air pollution.

Stronger emission controls in North Carolina may have saved lives by reducing deaths from respiratory illness, according to an academic study published Monday.

During the past few decades, the state has tightened its air quality standards through adherence to federal legislation such as the Clean Air Act and the state’s 2002 Clean Smokestacks Act. The state’s success in reducing air pollution may explain a substantial decline in deaths from the respiratory illnesses asthma and emphysema during corresponding periods, reported Duke University scientists in the International Journal of COPD on Monday.

The release of the study comes as state lawmakers are considering legislation this week that eliminates some of the state’s air-quality stations, part of the framework for measuring pollution across the state.

What do you do when the data points out your wrongheadedness? Either outlaw the use of the data or remove the ability to collect the data.

Sheila Holman, the director of the Division of Air Quality at the N.C. Department of Environment and Nature Resources, documented the decline in emissions and improvement to air quality since the passage of the Clean Smokestacks Act. She partnered with Duke researchers on the project and believes the improvements to air quality have improved health.

“Here was some evidence that we did have an impact on the public health of North Carolina,” Holman said.