U.S. President Barack Obama says the Environmental Protection Agency has designed "commonsense guidelines" for reducing dangerous carbon pollution from power plants.
The president said in his weekly address Saturday the proposed guidelines would cut down on the "carbon pollution, smog and soot" 'that threaten the health of the most vulnerable Americans, including children and the elderly."
He said up to 100,000 asthma attacks and 2,100 heart attacks would be prevented in the first year of the implementation of the guidelines.
Obama talked about the new plan at Children's National Medical Center in Washington where he visited children whose asthma is aggravated by air pollution.
The president said a shift to cleaner energy would not happen overnight and would require "tough choices."
Obama said "as president and a parent, I refuse to condemn our children to a planet that's beyond fixing."