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February 20, 2009
E.P.A. Expected to Regulate Carbon Dioxide
E.P.A. Expected to Regulate Carbon Dioxide
The Environmental Protection Agency is expected to act for the first time to regulate carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that scientists blame for the warming of the planet, according to top Obama administration officials.
The decision, which most likely would play out in stages over a period of months, would have a profound impact on transportation, manufacturing costs and how utilities generate power.
It could accelerate the progress of energy and climate change legislation in Congress and form a basis for the United States’ negotiating position at United Nations climate talks set for December in Copenhagen.
The environmental agency is under order from the Supreme Court to make a determination whether carbon dioxide is a pollutant that endangers public health and welfare, an order that the Bush administration essentially ignored despite near-unanimous belief among agency experts that research points inexorably to such a finding.
Lisa P. Jackson, the new E.P.A. administrator, said in an interview that she had asked her staff to review the latest scientific evidence and prepare the documentation for a so-called endangerment finding. Ms. Jackson said she had not decided to issue such a finding but she pointedly noted that the second anniversary of the Supreme Court decision, Massachusetts v. E.P.A., is April 2, and there is the wide expectation that she will act by then.
“We here know how momentous that decision could be,” Ms. Jackson said. “We have to lay out a road map.”
But let's look at Obama's pick Lisa P. Jackson
Obama’s pick for administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will be the first African American to head the Agency since its creation in 1970. She will be the fourth female administrator of the EPA, which seems to be a trend: four of the last seven EPA chiefs have been women. Jackson’s choice may be the only bright spot among Obama’s energy and environmental nominees. While in the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Jackson’s record was one of generally cooperating with industry and streamlining permitting processes, often angering green activists who opposed any activity that made it easier to build or expand polluting facilities. Her handling of New Jersey’s Superfund sites has also come in for criticism, and her confirmation hearings could be ugly.
It’s possible that Jackson will be able to bring her business-friendly orientation to the EPA—but that depends on how much independence she is granted by Carol Browner, Obama’s eco-czar
Carol Browner
Carol Browner’s selection as “energy coordinator” (sometimes called energy czar) virtually guarantees that the Obama administration’s energy and environmental policies will be anything but moderate. Her two terms as EPA boss were marked by adversarialism, punitive enforcement actions, draconian tightening of environmental regulations, and the message that business is destructive of the environment and dishonest about the costs of environmental regulations. Browner’s capstone achievement, the tightening of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards in 1997, sparked legal battles that raged for nearly ten years and required resolution by the Supreme Court. Throughout the debate, Browner consistently denied that cost was any consideration in setting standards, despite findings by the Office of Management and Budget that the costs of the regulations would outweigh the benefits, and despite numerous studies showing that, on net, far more people would be harmed by the economic consequences of the new standards than would be helped by the incremental gains in air quality. As a result of this bruising battle, Browner made many enemies in both business and government.
When it comes to climate change, she is a disciple of Al Gore, for whom she worked from 1988 to 1991. Browner reportedly helped write much of Gore’s book Earth in the Balance, which called for a wrenching transformation of American society to make it “greener” and the elimination of the internal combustion engine in 25 years. Browner believes that “climate change is the greatest challenge ever faced,” and that the EPA is the agency to face it. Toward the end of her tenure as EPA chief, Browner gave the agency the authority to regulate greenhouse gases as a pollutant, despite the fact that such gases are barely mentioned in the Clean Air Act.
Wild Thing's comment..........
These people know this will ruin manufacturing and the government will have to take over in order to stop the “manufacturing crisis”.
This is not the science they promote... it is the religion....the church of Global Warming.
What the heck are they even thinking.... having us pay a half-cent tax per breath? OK Everyone, slow down your breathing!
I was going to say, “Don’t hold your breath.” But I think the new laws will require just that. If you social security number ends in an even number, you can breath during even number minutes, odd numbers breath druing odd minutes.
My challenge to the global warming crowd still stands:
Go “carbon-free” for one year.
If there are any survivors I’d be happy to hear their stories how it worked out.
....Thank you so much Lynn for sending this to me.
Posted by Wild Thing at February 20, 2009 05:50 AM
Comments
Get your Carbon credits right here! Step right up and get your carbon credits hereeee! No time to delay! Special on coal burning carbon credits!! Step right up!!
(Al Gore needs to pay his electricity bill.)
I'm so glad I bought my Jeep Commander. And we have the two wood stoves just blazing away. (Yes, we're murderers of trees...)
I figure I'm owed a few carbon offsets from living in CA and abiding by their rules for so many years. heh
Posted by: yankeemom at February 20, 2009 07:34 AM
Tis time to take all the tree-huggers and hang them from the highest tree we can find!!! At least they would die happy!!!! LOL
Having worked as an environmental manager in industry for over twenty-five years, I can guarantee that these new regs they are considering are going to have a profound economic impact on industry, especially the energy group. This is all part of "O"'s plan to put the coal industry out of business.
Let's see....and how does this fit into his stimulus package?? Oh ya.....put more people out of work and on the government welform program. Then he is assured of more votes from all of these welfare slaves. Thought he was against slavery!!!!
With this plan, we may all get to go back in time and see how his favorite Pres (Lincoln) lived.....reading by candlelight and oil lamps!! Ooops....no, can't do that!! They emit too much carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and other harmful pollutants. Guess we will just have to learn to live like the cave men did....in the dark!!!!
Posted by: John at February 20, 2009 08:17 AM
The EPA is nothing more than an interloper into the commercial business of construction and progress. So far they have stayed out of residential work but their tentacles are reaching ever further into all aspects of the industry. 10-20 % of the cost of new construction is for Environmental Impact Studies, this 10-20% of what the total project would cost. This is the problem in California, PP&G, they want to run new lines to increase their Electrical capacity, and have been they have been bogged down for a year and a half in these stupid EPA studies, i.e., they can't start construction until they get all of the approvals in writing and everyone of the environmentas have been paid off. Because that's what this is all about.
IFF the Porkulus bill was anything near a stimulus package any progress in restarting the economy would be severely retarded by the Environmentalist Whackos. And their lawsuits to stop construction completely. Between the EPA and the environmental wieniees Small Busniess is doomed. So much for restarting the economy.
Posted by: Mark at February 20, 2009 09:12 AM
This environmental religious dementia is far more dangerous to America's welfare than David Koresh and the Davidians were to anyone. This is a slow form of economic suicide.
The socialist politicians are profiteering from this silly carbon credit scam. They are personally being paid off and they get more government control. Also, the backers of energy conservation themselves are some of the biggest energy users. Al Gore and Joihn Edwards with their extraordinary home energy bills, John Travolta and Al Gore with their private jet usage and Obama with the heat turned up in the Oval office.
And they worry about excessive cow farts!
Posted by: TomR at February 20, 2009 10:56 AM
Had a conversation with my Ex SIL last night, he tells me that the Enviro's have forced the pumping stations in the oil patch to replace their prime movers with electric motors, thus they are swapping a local Solar or Rolls Royce turbine for a remote GE Turbine driving an alternator that is already overloaded at enormous expense, that expense gets passed to you and I, the consumer. Solving nothing but the illusion of Political Correctness. Those exhaust gases will be spewed in a different location but like nationally they haven't built any new power plants in over 30 years.
The laws of conservation prohibit more energy output for less energy input. My last 10 years there we were operating at 110% of design capacity with aging equipment and no hope on increasing throughput due to EPA restrictions, operational and equipment expenses. Squeeze industry and it will shut down, move off shore or both.
The only shift will be from gas to electric without the infrastructure to support it. This will take commuters off the roads and those workers will become part of the dole. Remember they oppose new drilling, existing drilling, coal, nuclear and hydro electric projects.
As a former 'energy' worker I watched the enviro's close down 4 nuclear reactors, a couple that I worked on, I've seen nothing but a steady "Not In My Backyard" response from the Congress, the Enviro's and the idiots who think this isn't destructive to the economy.
Do any of you think that there are enough water buffalo to farm the world's food resource needs? The greenies do!!!! How about some Chinese Melamine or a good dose of dysentery from some Turd World food source, hell we can't even keep our internal food chain safe.
I just spent a week in farm country, more orchards have been abandoned or cut down, weeds have taken over alfalfa fields, dairies are butchering their milk cows, the cost of farming is astronomical due to taxes, assessments, controls and restrictions, the costs of fuel and fertilizer. The enviro's have pushed the costs of irrigation up 300% in the past two years alone. Their water district is an inverted pyramid of bureaucrats, lawyers and environmental compliance functionaries that each farmer has to pony up assessments to pay for their salaries. As a consequence the canals and irrigation delivery systems are in a horrible state of disrepair. That was the original function of the irrigation district, to enhance, maintain and repair the irrigation system,today they operate like a city government.
Meanwhile the bureaucrats concentrate on rationing water to those farms they deem are in compliance with the EPA regulations.
This is something to think about when ever you buy those groceries, your gasoline, or pay those ever increasing HVAC bills, trust me they will increase under Obama as more wetbacks take over the land with their shanties old cars and critters roaming free in and out of those shanties. Welcome to the Turd World folks.
Posted by: Jack at February 20, 2009 11:30 AM
Thank God Nick is CPR and First Aid qualified... one and a two and a three and a four.... blow! And a one... and a two...
Posted by: darthcrUSAderworldtour07 at February 20, 2009 11:38 AM
This is another vehicle for governmental control. Land use guidelines, grant money and all the rest. "Manufacturing crisis" is right. And they are manufacturing another crisis. They want us to creat a more perfect world. In a perfect world, no one has a job.
Posted by: jim Warren at February 20, 2009 01:12 PM
There goes the baked bean industry. The EPA will put a canister (which you will have to buy) on your butt and tax you for farts. I guess it will help the clothing industry as we will have to have special pants to encompass the canister.
Enough is enough alright already.
Bob A.
Posted by: Bob A at February 20, 2009 07:46 PM
