Archive for February, 2011

Is Obama With Eye On ’12 Mulling An EPA Rollback?

February 28, 2011

By Steve Milloy
March 1, 2011, Investor’s Business Daily

It looks as though President Obama may have decided that getting re-elected in 2012 is more important than saving the planet from the much-dreaded global warming. Read the rest of this entry »

Is Obama prepping the left for bad news on EPA?

February 28, 2011

The coincidence of:

  • Sen. Sherrod Brown’s letter to Obama about EPA regs;
  • Pew Center chief Eileen Claussen’s “prediction” in today’s Guardian about Obama; and
  • Grist.org’s howling about the Brown letter,

may be signs that Obama is preparing his base for the impending news that the EPA will be delaying implementation of its greenhouse gas regulations by two years.

And, no, a two year delay is most certainly not good enough — it’s just a ploy to help Obama skate through the 2012 election.

Senate Dem writes Obama about EPA job-killing

February 28, 2011

Greenwire reports that Ohio Democrat Sherrod Brown has complained to President Obama about the threat to jobs posed by EPA greenhouse gas regulation. Brown’s letter to Obama stated,

“…Without careful consideration, the unintended consequences of imprudent regulation could ultimately undermine our shared objectives of reducing GHG emissions and spurring economic growth… It is disconcerting that, to my knowledge, the EPA has neither a plan in place nor the authority to provide these protections to U.S. manufacturing, a sector of the economy critical to the continued economic recovery of my state and so many others…”

If enough Senate Democrats get antsy about the EPA regs, Obama will be forced to give up his dream of advancing socialism through greenhouse gas regulation.

Click for Brown’s media release and letter.
Click here for the greens’ meltdown.

First sign of Obama caving on EPA regulation?

February 28, 2011

In “Barack Obama may be forced to delay US climate action” (The Guardian, Feb. 28), prominent green activist Eileen Claussen is quoted as saying,

“If I was predicting, I would say that [Obama] might sign a delay provision, to delay the EPA effort for two years or something like that. It probably depends on the particular circumstances… I would bet that if it was a delay, and it was part of a money bill that was really important, he would sign it.”

If Obama really is considering this move, it would merely be a ploy to help get him past the 2012 election, after which time, his EPA could then get back to regulating greenhouse gases.

Republicans ought not fall for a trick that doesn’t help our economy (a two-year delay simply extends energy sector uncertainty), and possibly helps Obama’s re-election chances.

UN seeks Hollywood propaganda help

February 28, 2011

“Together we can have a blockbuster impact on the world,” U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon tells Hollywood heavyweights at a forum on global climate change, reports the Los Angeles Times.

GOP bill does not target EPA

February 28, 2011

The short-term spending bill released Friday by House Republicans does not include language to block funding for the Environmental Protection Agency’s climate rules or slash the agency’s budget. Andrew Restuccia, E2 Wire

 

Survey: EPA most problematic to biz by far

February 26, 2011

EPA far outdistances the Department of Labor (51% to 8%) in this American Enterprise Institute survey of business complaints about regulatory agencies.

Air-tight, energy-efficient homes kill…

February 25, 2011

… just hamsters so far, according to this report. But this does make us think of 1970s-era buildings that were built air-tight and then developed sick building syndrome — like the U.S. EPA’s old headquarters at 401 M St., SE, Washington, DC. Watch out for Obama’s weather strippers!

Wimp & Sellout Watch No. 7

February 25, 2011

While we have high hopes that the newly empowered Republican Members of Congress will make every effort to fight the socialization of America, we are also aware that the GOP has an ignominious history of wimping- and/or selling-out, especially on environmental issues. Wimp & Sellout Watch is GreenHellBlog’s effort to spotlight the GOP’s weak links because:

In the 112th Congress, it should take more courage for GOP-ers to retreat than to advance.

Today’s update on potential wimps and sellouts to watch:

House GOP leadership. Greenwire reports,

House Republicans are preparing a two-week government funding bill for debate next week that amounts to a short-term version of the $60 billion in federal cuts they approved last week — but without that longer legislation’s restrictive riders on U.S. EPA and other agencies…

A House GOP aide confirmed that the two-week CR will not include language barring EPA from implementing its politically volatile greenhouse gas emissions rules, its transition to a higher ethanol blend in transportation fuels, its pending limits on water pollution from coal mining operations and other riders that Republicans attached to their seven-month CR before its final passage early Saturday.

Cantor, House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and their lieutenants today repeatedly said the newest CR amounts to the GOP’s second attempt to avert a shutdown, compared with the lack of action on a CR in the upper chamber.

“If they walk away from this offer, they are then actively engineering a government shutdown,” Rep. Peter Roskam (R-Ill.) told reporters, describing his conference’s new CR as “a commitment to keep the government open” beyond the current funding bill’s expiration. [Emphasis added]

Yeesh…..

Don’t forget to check out previous editions of Wimp & Sellout Watch:

  • No. 6 — Spotlighting Rep. Mike Simpson.
  • No. 5 — Spotlighting Rep. Fred Upton.
  • No. 4 — Spotlighting Rep. Fred Upton.
  • No. 3 — Spotlighting Rep. Mike Simpson.
  • No. 2 — Spotlighting Sens. Lindsey Graham and Rob Portman.
  • No. 1 — Spotlighting Sens. Chuck Grassley, Rob Portman, Lindsey Graham and Scott Brown, and Rep. Fred Upton.

NYT: Solar Energy Faces Tests On Greenness

February 25, 2011

“Just weeks after regulators approved the last of nine multibillion-dollar solar thermal power plants to be built in the Southern California desert, a storm of lawsuits and the resurgence of an older solar technology are clouding the future of the nascent industry.” (New York Times)

Ever thought the greenies are just plain anti-energy?