Start pricing inhalers for your kids. Patently un-green House Agriculture Committee Chairman Colin Peterson (MN-D), a self-proclaimed Blue Dog and fiscal conservative, lead the charge yesterday against the EPA's attempts to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants under the Clean Air Act. With the support of House Republicans and Blue Dog Dems, Peterson introduced a joint resolution to repeal the Environmental Protection Agency's "endangerment finding."
The AP reported yesterday
House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson of Minnesota and Armed Services Chairman Ike Skelton of Missouri want to veto the EPA's finding in December that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare, and that this calls for further rules restricitn emissions from cars, power plants and factories.
Their resolution, co-sponsored by Missouri Republican Jo Ann Emerson, mirrors one drafted by Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski and backed by 41 senators from both parties. At least three states and a host of business groups also have challenged the EPA finding, which sets the stage for future rules restricting emissions from cars, power plants and factories.
Peterson, who has long been no friend of the EPA, also contested the Agency's attempts to investigate bio-fuels' impact on land cultivation in 2009. Claiming such a study would "kill off" the U.S. corn-based ethanol program, Peterson said of the EPA , "You can't trust them. I no longer have any confidence in the EPA."
Peterson's resolution, having immediately been dubbed the "Dirty Air Act" by environmental and public health lobbysists is already causing uproar. Many major U.S. medical organizations, including the American Association of Pediatrics, and the American College of Preventative Medicine have drafted a letter to the Senate urging the endangerment findings of the EPA be protected and upheld.
The budget proposal released by President Obama last week is a long and complicated document (140 pages, PDF). It departs significantly from how things have been done in the past in many regards, so it will take a while for conservation and environmental groups to fully assess its implications on environmental policies.
With that being said, there are a number of hugely important items that offer hints into the impacts this administration will have on conservation and environmental projects of interest to Minnesotans.
Friday we got the news that Obama's EPA would block the proposed Big Stone II coal plant. Now today among other things President Obama (!) directed federal regulators to move swiftly to grant 14 states the right to set stricter emissions and efficiency standards then the feds. The Bush EPA rejected this request in December of 07. California and other states have sued over this and now Obama will be taking one more step to reverse yet another bad legacy left by the Bush Administration.
The California standards will reduce overall greenhouse gas emission from passenger cars 18 percent by 2020 and 27 percent by 2030. They will go into effect later this year in California, Arizona, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Connecticut, Oregon, Maine, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Vermont, Washington and Massachusetts. An effort to add Minnesota to that list was unsuccessful last year but will be relaunched in the coming days by Rep. Melissa Hortman and Sen. John Marty.
Today the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) delivered a big blow to the proposed Big Stone II plant and a huge victory for our climate and environment.
Just as a little backgrounder, Big Stone II is a proposed coal plant in South Dakota that would provide power to Minnesota, South Dakota and North Dakota. All these states have huge wind power potential but Big Stone II would commit us to dirty energy for generations. Here's a longer factsheet. It's a terrible idea but seemed to be heading towards approval, until today.
You can read for yourself the EPA ruling (PDFs: Part 1, Part 2). Environmental groups Clean Water Action and the Sierra Club are excited about a big victory. This does not end the fight but it is a significant blow to Big Stone II. Keep reading for more.
Via Polinaut, Sen. Amy Klobuchar is calling for the resignation of EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson:
WASHINGTON (AP) _ A trio of Senate Democrats is pressing EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson to resign, saying he has repeatedly succumbed to political pressure on decisions vital to protecting health and the environment.
Environment Committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., also asked Attorney General Michael Mukasey to investigate whether Johnson made false statements when he told Congress that he alone decided California should not regulate motor vehicle greenhouse gases.
During George W. Bush's first term, EPA leader Christy Todd Whitman had the good sense to walk away when it became obvious the corporate interests ensconced in the White House would override any real science-based environmental reform she pushed.
This is a good move on Klobuchar's part, and will help set the standard for real EPA leadership in the Obama administration. Go Amy!
Today the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) delivered a big blow to the proposed Big Stone II plant and a huge victory for our climate and environment.
