The “reverse the Bush White House on environmental decisions” hit parade keeps on coming, as the Environmental Protection Agency announced this week that it would scrap a Bush administration smog emission rule and go back to the drawing board. Says the AP:

In a notice filed Wednesday in a federal appeals court, the Justice Department says there are concerns that the revision made by the Bush administration does not adhere to federal air pollution law. The Environmental Protection Agency will propose revised smog standards to protect health and the environment in late December…

While stronger than the previous rule, [the Bush administration rule] wasn’t as tough as the government’s independent scientific advisers had recommended. Documents later showed that President George W. Bush had intervened personally on the level of smog protection for wildlife, farmlands, parks and open spaces.

The Bush rule allowed ground-level ozone concentrations of 75 parts per billion. No, I don’t know what that means either, but experts–science experts–recommend that levels be kept at 60 to 70 parts per billion. Which, we assume, the Obama administration will try to get the new rule to hit. This will, research suggests, reduce the amount of heart attacks, emergency room visits, and respiratory problems for many, many Americans. Which, research on the research suggests, is a good thing.

photo credit: Simone Ramella’s flickr photostream/Creative Commons