Archive for the ‘Federal Legislation – GHG’ Category

Article updated May 25, 2010: Both White House and EPA are in denial regarding the  once-settled but increasingly controversial proposition of an anthroprogenic global warming (AGW) crisis and therefore the need to control greenhouse gas emissions.  In Congress we see new legislation both for and against more government control of GHGs.

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Americans for Prosperity is hitting the road with their Regulation Reality Tour featuring the Carbon Cops who will issue a citation for anything from filling up your gas tank to using your heat or electricity.

The Tour will be in Colorado Apr 19-21. We will post additional information as it becomes available. Don’t miss this event!

April 3, 2010 – EPA issues rules on vehicle greenhouse gas emissions  and states line up to legally challenge the new regulations. 

In the last few month various bills have been introduced (or are being drafted) by Congress … Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) asserts that greenhouse gas regulation would be better done by Congress than by an appointed agency.  House Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D-North Dakota) states that the Clean Air Act was not developed for greenhouse gas emissions, and it does not work to try and shoehorn greenhouse gas emissions into this statute.

In 2007, The Supreme Court ruled that greenhouse gases are air pollutants covered by the Clean Air Act.  The EPA was directed to determine whether GHG from vehicles cause or contribute to air pollution and that this pollution may reasonably be anticipated to endanger public health or welfare.

In 2007, there was consensus on human-caused global warming and associated climate change predictions.  Now significant questions have been raised. Questions about the quality of the science behind the assumptions.  Also there are many  unanswered questions regarding air quality… how to measure, what level of “pollution” is a threat to “public health and welfare”, cost/benefit issues, etc.

We are in agreement that rulings made in 2007 need to be revisited …   here are some articles to help you get informed.

• FOX News article – More States Sue EPA as Agency Issues First Climate Change Regulations
• Article at SolveClimate.com – Mar 3, 2010 – EPA’s authority to regulate Greenhouse Gases comes under fire from all angles – article supplies many links to help you get informed.
• EPA.gov – Climate Change – Regulatory Initiatives
• Article by Thomas Pyle at the DailyCaller – Energy and Climate, March Madness-style

Does “clean energy” at all cost make common sense … what is the “right thing to do”? View comments made January 2008 by Barack Obama. In the State of the Union Address, January 2010, … President Obama said

Even if you doubt the evidence, providing incentives for energy efficiency and clean energy are the right thing to do for our future — because the nation that leads the clean energy economy will be the nation that leads the global economy. And America must be that nation.

December 16, 2009 - HR 4396 introduced in the House of Representatives by Earl Pomeroy (D-North Dakota).  He is opposed to funding  EPA to regulate greenhouse gasses.

Here is more information on Congressman Earl Pomeroy’s web site.

Feb 1 – Congressman Pomeroy Blasts Funding for Greenhouse Gas Regulation in President’s Budget

Feb 23 – Pomeroy: EPA Took Good First Step, Now Should Back Off Regulation of Greenhouse Gases

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) is proposing an amendment to handcuff the EPA from exercising its full regulatory power.  Read about this in a Wall Street Journal article.  The purpose of the amendment would be to prohibit the use of funds to regulate or control carbon dioxide from any sources other than a mobile source or to treat carbon dioxide as a pollutant subject to certain regulations. Many environmental groups are opposing this legislation.

Here is an article dated Jan 19, 2010 in the Los Angeles Times

Coal-state Democrats oppose global-warming rules
By MATTHEW DALY, Associated Press Writer
Publication: LexisNexis
Date: Tuesday, February 23 2010

WASHINGTON – Eight Democratic senators from industrial states are challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to regulate pollution blamed for global warming.

In a letter written by Sen. Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia, the lawmakers said the agency lacks the power to restrict greenhouse gases from stationary sources such as power plants, factories and mines. The lawmakers said Congress – not the EPA – should address an issue with big implications for thousands of U.S. jobs and businesses.