In The News
WSJ: New Smog Proposals From EPA Draw Fire
Monday September 20, 2010
A proposed crackdown on smog by the Environmental Protection Agency is fueling resistance from businesses groups concerned about costs, Republicans who say it'll be a drag on the economy-and some heartland Democrats engaged in tough election battles this fall.
EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson has dramatically stepped up the pace and scope of regulatory activity since 2009. She has pushed sweeping rules to regulate greenhouse-gas emissions linked to climate change, challenged coal companies over their mining practices, and questioned the methods energy companies are using to drill for natural gas.
Now Ms. Jackson is proposing to redefine what constitutes unsafe levels of ground-level ozone, a primary ingredient in smog.
Ms. Jackson wants to set the nation's air-quality standard for ozone at between 60 and 70 parts per billion, compared with 75 ppb currently. The EPA says that could save as many as 12,000 lives a year and save the U.S. as much as $100 billion annually in 2020 by reducing spending on health problems associated with excessive ozone, such as asthma and bronchitis.
The EPA's proposal has the support of the American Lung Association and the American Medical Association, and is consistent with the recommendation of a 23-member panel of clean-air experts who advised the agency on the issue after reviewing more than 1,700 studies.
Ozone forms in the atmosphere when emissions
EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson has dramatically stepped up the pace and scope of regulatory activity since 2009. She has pushed sweeping rules to regulate greenhouse-gas emissions linked to climate change, challenged coal companies over their mining practices, and questioned the methods energy companies are using to drill for natural gas.
Now Ms. Jackson is proposing to redefine what constitutes unsafe levels of ground-level ozone, a primary ingredient in smog.
Ms. Jackson wants to set the nation's air-quality standard for ozone at between 60 and 70 parts per billion, compared with 75 ppb currently. The EPA says that could save as many as 12,000 lives a year and save the U.S. as much as $100 billion annually in 2020 by reducing spending on health problems associated with excessive ozone, such as asthma and bronchitis.
The EPA's proposal has the support of the American Lung Association and the American Medical Association, and is consistent with the recommendation of a 23-member panel of clean-air experts who advised the agency on the issue after reviewing more than 1,700 studies.
Ozone forms in the atmosphere when emissions
NYT: Climate skeptics sweeping GOP Senate primaries
Monday September 20, 2010
Oklahoma Republican James Inhofe stood on the Senate floor last year to declare 2009 "the year of the skeptic."
Turns out he jumped the gun.
This year, a host of Republican Senate hopefuls are trumpeting their rejection of climate science on the campaign trail. Christine O'Donnell became the latest to enter the spotlight last week when she rode tea party support to knock off Rep. Mike Castle -- one of eight House Republicans who voted for cap-and-trade climate legislation last summer -- in Delaware's open-seat GOP Senate primary.
She joins Nevada's Sharron Angle -- who has dismissed man-made global warming as a "mantra of the left" -- Wisconsin's Ron Johnson -- who blames warming on "sun spots" -- Florida's Marco Rubio, Alaska's Joe Miller and Colorado's Ken Buck as tea party-backed Republican Senate candidates who reject the science connecting human greenhouse gas emissions to climate change.
But the tea partiers are not alone. Carly Fiorina, the former Hewlett-Packard CEO and challenger to Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), says Americans need to "have the courage to examine the science of climate change." And at a debate last month in New Hampshire, all six Republicans seeking their party's nomination to replace retiring Sen. Judd Gregg (R) expressed their skepticism, including former state Attorney General Kelly Ayotte, the eventual nominee.
Turns out he jumped the gun.
This year, a host of Republican Senate hopefuls are trumpeting their rejection of climate science on the campaign trail. Christine O'Donnell became the latest to enter the spotlight last week when she rode tea party support to knock off Rep. Mike Castle -- one of eight House Republicans who voted for cap-and-trade climate legislation last summer -- in Delaware's open-seat GOP Senate primary.
She joins Nevada's Sharron Angle -- who has dismissed man-made global warming as a "mantra of the left" -- Wisconsin's Ron Johnson -- who blames warming on "sun spots" -- Florida's Marco Rubio, Alaska's Joe Miller and Colorado's Ken Buck as tea party-backed Republican Senate candidates who reject the science connecting human greenhouse gas emissions to climate change.
But the tea partiers are not alone. Carly Fiorina, the former Hewlett-Packard CEO and challenger to Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), says Americans need to "have the courage to examine the science of climate change." And at a debate last month in New Hampshire, all six Republicans seeking their party's nomination to replace retiring Sen. Judd Gregg (R) expressed their skepticism, including former state Attorney General Kelly Ayotte, the eventual nominee.
Jason's Law: Keeping our Focus on Truck Driver Safety
Friday September 17, 2010
Senator Inhofe fully supports the intent of legislation introduced this Congress by Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) - Jason's Law - to provide increased safety for truck drivers. In fact, this is not new legislation. The language of the Schumer bill was included in the multi-year highway bill Senator Inhofe authored, SAFETEA-LU, signed into law August 10, 2005. The good news, therefore, is Jason's Law is already on the books. (See Section 1305)
As chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, Senator Inhofe successfully worked to prioritize funding for safety in the 2005 highway bill. Out of concern for the operators that are the engine of the trucking industry, Senator Inhofe included a $25 million pilot program to address the shortage of long term parking for commercial motor vehicles on the National Highway System. Inhofe believed that it was essential that we make safe and reliable resting areas for truck operators a priority and ensure that our drivers are safe when they are not in service. Doing so also has the added benefit of reducing congestion and improves air quality. It is important that the concerns of individuals who are responsible for moving the freight that drives the economy are not overlooked in our national transportation policy.
As chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, Senator Inhofe successfully worked to prioritize funding for safety in the 2005 highway bill. Out of concern for the operators that are the engine of the trucking industry, Senator Inhofe included a $25 million pilot program to address the shortage of long term parking for commercial motor vehicles on the National Highway System. Inhofe believed that it was essential that we make safe and reliable resting areas for truck operators a priority and ensure that our drivers are safe when they are not in service. Doing so also has the added benefit of reducing congestion and improves air quality. It is important that the concerns of individuals who are responsible for moving the freight that drives the economy are not overlooked in our national transportation policy.
FoxNews.com: Global Warming Out, 'Global Climate Disruption' In
Friday September 17, 2010
From the administration that brought you "man-caused disaster" and "overseas contingency operation," another terminology change is in the pipeline.
The White House wants the public to start using the term "global climate disruption" in place of "global warming" -- fearing the latter term oversimplifies the problem and makes it sound less dangerous than it really is.
White House science adviser John Holdren urged people to start using the phrase during a speech last week in Oslo, echoing a plea he made three years earlier. Holdren said global warming is a "dangerous misnomer" for a problem far more complicated than a rise in temperature.
The White House wants the public to start using the term "global climate disruption" in place of "global warming" -- fearing the latter term oversimplifies the problem and makes it sound less dangerous than it really is.
White House science adviser John Holdren urged people to start using the phrase during a speech last week in Oslo, echoing a plea he made three years earlier. Holdren said global warming is a "dangerous misnomer" for a problem far more complicated than a rise in temperature.
Inhofe: Jobs/Economy New Focus of EPW Committee if Chairman
Friday September 17, 2010
The Senate's top global warming skeptic is confident he'll reclaim the gavel of the Environment and Public Works Committee next year, and he's got big plans in store.
"I'll be chairman," Oklahoma Republican James Inhofe said in an interview yesterday.
Inhofe was chairman of the panel from 2003 to 2007 and has served as ranking member since Democrats seized control of the chamber and Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) took the gavel.
With an outside chance that Republicans will win back the Senate this fall, Inhofe is already making plans to overhaul the powerful panel.
His top priority, he says, is to stop "wasting time" on global warming hearings and get down to business on issues he says have been neglected, like overseeing U.S. EPA and passing major transportation and water infrastructure bills.
"We haven't really been doing anything because they've been wasting all of our time on all that silly stuff, all the hearings on global warming and all that," Inhofe said.
"I'll be chairman," Oklahoma Republican James Inhofe said in an interview yesterday.
Inhofe was chairman of the panel from 2003 to 2007 and has served as ranking member since Democrats seized control of the chamber and Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) took the gavel.
With an outside chance that Republicans will win back the Senate this fall, Inhofe is already making plans to overhaul the powerful panel.
His top priority, he says, is to stop "wasting time" on global warming hearings and get down to business on issues he says have been neglected, like overseeing U.S. EPA and passing major transportation and water infrastructure bills.
"We haven't really been doing anything because they've been wasting all of our time on all that silly stuff, all the hearings on global warming and all that," Inhofe said.
Politico: Inhofe Redux
Thursday September 16, 2010
INHOFE REDUX: Environment and Public Works would certainly be an interesting place under Republican control. Jim Inhofe was in charge from 2002-2006, chairing hearings that investigated climate science and the journalists who cover the issue. If he gets the gavel back, Inhofe said he is planning some oversight of the Obama administration.
"As fond as I am of Lisa Jackson, and I am, still I always have this feeling she's not calling the shots," Inhofe said. "It's Carol Browner. And we don't have that good relationship.... I think we'd want to investigate, for example, we can go back and look, what specifically [Jackson's] told us in public meetings on the endangerment finding."
PUTTING THE PW IN EPW: Inhofe said he would give the infrastructure side of the panel some exercise. "I want a transportation reauthorization. I want a WRDA bill." But he's already envisioning problems with deficit-sensitive senators on his side of the aisle. "We have a lot of gun shy Republicans who are hard sells on infrastructure for some unknown reasons."
"As fond as I am of Lisa Jackson, and I am, still I always have this feeling she's not calling the shots," Inhofe said. "It's Carol Browner. And we don't have that good relationship.... I think we'd want to investigate, for example, we can go back and look, what specifically [Jackson's] told us in public meetings on the endangerment finding."
PUTTING THE PW IN EPW: Inhofe said he would give the infrastructure side of the panel some exercise. "I want a transportation reauthorization. I want a WRDA bill." But he's already envisioning problems with deficit-sensitive senators on his side of the aisle. "We have a lot of gun shy Republicans who are hard sells on infrastructure for some unknown reasons."
The Hill: Kerry forecasts cloudy future for Senate climate bill
Wednesday September 15, 2010
Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) -- whose never-say-die attitude fueled months of long-shot climate talks -- admitted defeat Tuesday.
"Anything that's comprehensive or with a cap ... will not pass right now," he told reporters. In fact, he said, even something as limited as a renewable electricity production mandate faces very long odds of getting through this year.
"That's going to be very difficult," he said. "That's a longer legislative initiative."
The future of climate change and energy policy, he said, will depend on several factors, including the outcome of the coming midterms, in which Democrats are all but certain to lose seats.
"Anything that's comprehensive or with a cap ... will not pass right now," he told reporters. In fact, he said, even something as limited as a renewable electricity production mandate faces very long odds of getting through this year.
"That's going to be very difficult," he said. "That's a longer legislative initiative."
The future of climate change and energy policy, he said, will depend on several factors, including the outcome of the coming midterms, in which Democrats are all but certain to lose seats.
Denver Post Editorial: Political theater or poor policy?
Tuesday September 14, 2010
President Barack Obama's latest plan to spur the economy back to health has rightly found a new group of detractors. This time, though, it's his fellow Democrats, many of whom are locked in tight races, who are saying no.
Their rush to say no makes us wonder if the president put forth a serious plan or if this latest blueprint to stimulate the economy, in part by spending $50 billion to rebuild roads, railways and airports, is more political theater than legitimate policy.
Several Colorado Democrats who supported past stimulus spending - and at much greater levels - are rejecting the president's proposal.
Their rush to say no makes us wonder if the president put forth a serious plan or if this latest blueprint to stimulate the economy, in part by spending $50 billion to rebuild roads, railways and airports, is more political theater than legitimate policy.
Several Colorado Democrats who supported past stimulus spending - and at much greater levels - are rejecting the president's proposal.
EPW POLICY BEAT: BOILING POINT
Wednesday September 8, 2010
As President Obama tries to sell his latest incarnation of economic stimulus, his own Environment Protection Agency is busily promulgating regulations that are stifling growth and threatening jobs. In the coming weeks, we will focus on the full panoply of EPA's job-crushing regulations. Today, we will focus on one such proposal: maximum achievable control technology standards for industrial boilers, or the so-called Boiler MACT.
We understand that readers will avert their eyes or drift into somnolence at the very sound of "Boiler MACT" - but stick with us. While this and other EPA regulations don't grab headlines, their reach and impact are no less pervasive and damaging as other more widely known Obama Administration policies.
The Boiler MACT has a long and tortured legal history, the details of which we won't bore you with here. In essence, the rule seeks to reduce certain toxic air pollutants from industrial boilers, process heaters, and solid waste incinerators used by array of industries, including, among many others, refiners, cement, pulp and paper, steel, food processing, and chemicals. We support reducing such pollutants from these sources, but EPA's rule goes far beyond what is needed to protect public health.
We understand that readers will avert their eyes or drift into somnolence at the very sound of "Boiler MACT" - but stick with us. While this and other EPA regulations don't grab headlines, their reach and impact are no less pervasive and damaging as other more widely known Obama Administration policies.
The Boiler MACT has a long and tortured legal history, the details of which we won't bore you with here. In essence, the rule seeks to reduce certain toxic air pollutants from industrial boilers, process heaters, and solid waste incinerators used by array of industries, including, among many others, refiners, cement, pulp and paper, steel, food processing, and chemicals. We support reducing such pollutants from these sources, but EPA's rule goes far beyond what is needed to protect public health.
Oklahoman Editorial: Politics apparent in Obama's new economic proposals
Wednesday September 8, 2010
DESPERATION wafts from President Obama's new proposals to jump-start the economy - $50 billion in infrastructure spending and $300 billion in tax breaks for business. Coming as they do less than two months before the midterm congressional election, it's hard not to chalk them up to politics.
With an ABC News/Washington Post poll showing 92 percent of Americans think the economy is in bad shape and more people (33 percent to 30 percent) believing Obama has made things worse than those who think he has improved them, the president is proposing more government spending and targeted tax cuts, hoping to at least be seen as trying to fix low growth and high unemployment.
With an ABC News/Washington Post poll showing 92 percent of Americans think the economy is in bad shape and more people (33 percent to 30 percent) believing Obama has made things worse than those who think he has improved them, the president is proposing more government spending and targeted tax cuts, hoping to at least be seen as trying to fix low growth and high unemployment.
