Many other green bloggers have written great posts about Bush’s ludicrous climate change announcement. So I don’t think I need to add much to the idea that stopping the growth of emissions by 2025 is not a solution–it’s a fast-track to disaster. (Read more at Climate Progress, Gristmill and the U.S. Climate Action Network.)
There was one part of the press release preceding the speech that particularly struck me. In the release, the White House attacks environmental laws, including the Clean Air Act, as “outdated regulations.” They also attack “unelected regulators and judges” (i.e. the Supreme Court) who say the federal government needs to regulate GHG emissions under the Clean Air Act.
Here’s the release:
On the problem of outdated regulations being applied to climate change:
As we approach this challenge, we face a growing problem here at home. Some courts are taking laws written more than 30 years ago to primarily address local and regional environmental effects, and applying them to global climate change. The Clean Air Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the National Environmental Policy Act were never meant to regulate global climate change. For example, under a Supreme Court decision last year, the Clean Air Act could be applied to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles. [...]
Decisions with such far-reaching impact should not be left to unelected regulators and judges. Such decisions should be debated openly and made by the elected representatives of the people they affect. The American people deserve an honest assessment of the costs, benefits and feasibility of any proposed solution.
It’s now perfectly clear that this White House will never allow the EPA to regulate GHG emissions, as the Supreme Court has found they must do.
Tags: bush, climate change, EPA
