As noted previously
{Running Out the Clock, 12/24/07} the Supremes ruled in
Massachusetts v. EPA that the EPA has the authority under Section 202 of the Clean Air Act to regulate emissions of greenhouse gases including CO2, rebuking the Regime's illogical position that the Act could not be used to regulate CO2 emissions causing global warming, and that the causal link between greenhouse emissions and warming has not been conclusively established. A year later, the EPA still has not issued regulations to address the problem. Congressional investigations have revealed that agency staff worked to develop a regulatory scheme after the court ruling including a required finding that the public's health is endangered, only to have the White House suppress their work product. The Dow Jones Newswire called the infighting between agency officials and White House aides "intense". A multi-million dollar, two-year study shows how greenhouse gases from all sources could be regulated, and in a required cost-benefit analysis concludes that the net benefit of higher fuel efficiency standards for America would be in excess of
$2 trillion. But no way, said the Regime watchdogs at the Office of Management and Budget. They have been suppressing the report since last December. OMB demanded that the favorable cost benefit analysis be removed from EPA's report. The Regime wants a report that concludes the Clean Air Act is so fundamentally flawed that an entirely new regulatory scheme--presumably one more industry friendly--must be developed. It has been warning of a regulatory "train wreck" if the Clean Air Act standards are developed to cover greenhouse gases. The opposition to the Clean Air Act mandate is so entrenched that the White House
literally refused to accept EPA's e-mail
transmitting the unwanted findings. After meeting the Regime's stonewall, EPA Director Stephen Johnson censored EPA staff's conclusions and reformed them as an "Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking" requesting more public comment, thereby delaying any action on the issue until the next administration. According to
Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), who has been investigating the lack of progress on regulation, this further
delaying tactic was suggested by the conservative think tank, Heritage Foundation. The Charlatan has also invoked executive privilege in response to subpoenas from Chairman Waxman's House Oversight Committee. Apparently the President is using the controversial legal privilege to cover up his direct intervention in the dispute over greenhouse gas regulation. Waxman's committee investigations have revealed that Director Johnson's decision to reject California's Clean Air Act waiver petition was made only after discussions were held with the White House. Similarly, the
Washington Post reported that the President intervened in a controversy between OMB and the EPA, prompting the EPA to reject scientific recommendations for smog standards. It boggles the mind to think the Charlatan made a campaign pledge in 2000 to regulate CO2 emissions from power plants.
[photo: "Heh, heh, let me just delete this here spam before I go!"]
transmitting the unwanted findings. After meeting the Regime's stonewall, EPA Director Stephen Johnson censored EPA staff's conclusions and reformed them as an "Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking" requesting more public comment, thereby delaying any action on the issue until the next administration. According to Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), who has been investigating the lack of progress on regulation, this further delaying tactic was suggested by the conservative think tank, Heritage Foundation. The Charlatan has also invoked executive privilege in response to subpoenas from Chairman Waxman's House Oversight Committee. Apparently the President is using the controversial legal privilege to cover up his direct intervention in the dispute over greenhouse gas regulation. Waxman's committee investigations have revealed that Director Johnson's decision to reject California's Clean Air Act waiver petition was made only after discussions were held with the White House. Similarly, the Washington Post reported that the President intervened in a controversy between OMB and the EPA, prompting the EPA to reject scientific recommendations for smog standards. It boggles the mind to think the Charlatan made a campaign pledge in 2000 to regulate CO2 emissions from power plants.