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Posted on 06/02/2014 5:16:17 AM PDT by afraidfortherepublic
Having failed to get the Democrats’ cap-and-trade scheme through Congress, President Obama intends to create it through fiat, with the Environmental Protection Agency scheduled to issue today what amounts to a bill of attainder against coal-fired electricity generators. The regulation will set a national limit on greenhouse-gas emissions from coal plants and then offer states a phony menu of choices for meeting that standard, stacking the policy deck in such a way as to force them into cap-and-trade programs administered by multistate cartels.
It is far from obvious that the Obama administration has anything like the legal authority for this; until quite recently, the White House seemed to think that it was necessary for Congress — remember Congress, the lawmaking branch of government? — to pass a law creating a cap-and-trade program, but, having lost that vote, President Obama is pressing on in rule-by-decree mode, apparently having mistaken himself for Charles de Gaulle.
But set aside, arguendo, niggling questions about whether President Obama is once again running roughshod over the Constitution, the separation of powers, and the American model of government. Instead, ask yourself whether this sort of program is going to be successful exclusively on the terms of its own internal logic. If the purpose of capping greenhouse-gas emissions is to prevent global warming, then this program, far from reducing the emission of greenhouse gases, is just as likely to increase those emissions.
There are two fundamental realities that the administration is committed to ignoring. One is that, even if we swallow whole the most alarmist version of the global-warming story, the phenomenon is inescapably a global one. In order for the United States to make national cuts that are of global significance, they would have to be substantially larger than anything under current consideration, and reducing emissions...
(Excerpt) Read more at nationalreview.com ...
This is nothing but a extra-legislative tax hike by executive fiat. It is all about controling the American people and keeping the price of middle Eastern oil high.
Over many decades, regulatory agencies have morphed into a fourth branch of government and the EPA is king of this heap.
1st qtr, 2014 U.S. economic growth was at .01% or less indicating that the economic goal of “Sustainable Development/Agenda 21” as adopted by the U.S. has largely been met. This also fulfills the machiavellian wish of Maurice Strong, UN Chairman of UNCED aka The Rio Earth Summit where in 1992 he articulated the intentions of the “Plan for the 21st Century- Sustainable Development/Agenda 21” by saying this in regard to our “unsustainable” high consumption of natural resources which is, according to them destroying the Earth; “...isn’t it our responsibility to bring about the collapse of the industrialized countries?” Now, to become truly as “Sustainable” as perhaps Bangladesh, more vital work is quickly needed to further collapse and “Degrow” the economy. This will be accomplished with draconian restrictions on business and energy use which will be mandated by arbitrary regulations spawned by the bogus hype to save the planet from the dread effects of antropogenic Global Warming aka Climate Change aka Climate Disruption.
http://blogs.worldwatch.org/sustainableprosperity/resources/clubfordegrowth/
I’d like the person (Ted Cruz?) announcing the cuts to able to explain it this way...
“We’ve cut the agency by 90% in hopes they will learn to focus on actual clean air and clean water policies, rather than inventing problems, where none exist, for the sole purpose of justifying their existence.”
Not Charles de Gaulle but NERO!
It’s a payback to foreign energy interests who have bought off Washington DC and those Greenie (Watermelon) Organizations.
Remember all that foreign money that went unchecked into the original B0 campaign? It’s all about knocking down America. B0 Dunham/Soetoro/Soebarkah and the EPA are the perfect tools to accomplish this decline, along with the environmental tools who are leading the cheers.
Wonder which purse the Occupant keeps Congress’ balls in?
DISMANTLE THE EPA!
There is a hell of a lot of “dismantling” that needs to be done including the EPA, the unfortunate part is we have to wait until odumbo and his ilk are removed. Why wait?
Can the plant owners SUE over this as a breach of the US Constitution by NOT going through the legislature??
I believe the way the original law was written back in the early 70's (thank you Tricky Dick), Congress gave the agency pretty much free reign as deemed necessary by the Secretary to regulate pollution under the clean air and clean water acts. The courts have upheld the powers and Congress has pretty much ignored any oversight of the EPA. The kicker of course is that the USSC ruled just a few short years ago that carbon dioxide was a pollutant that could be regulated, ergo, we are screwed.
‘1st qtr, 2014 U.S. economic growth was at .01% or less indicating that the economic goal of “Sustainable Development/Agenda 21” as adopted by the U.S. has largely been met. This also fulfills the machiavellian wish of Maurice Strong, UN Chairman of UNCED aka The Rio Earth Summit where in 1992 he articulated the intentions of the “Plan for the 21st Century- Sustainable Development/Agenda 21” by saying this in regard to our “unsustainable” high consumption of natural resources which is, according to them destroying the Earth; “...isn’t it our responsibility to bring about the collapse of the industrialized countries?”’
This is correct. When I first saw what was done to the coal industry, I knew that it had nothing to do with mine safety and the protection of workers, it was designed to make the coal business safe for the oil companies. They do not like competition, it is also easier to control a few large companies then thousands of small ones by the government.
My dad and I owned a small coal company and when this stuff started in the 70’s I told him they would put us and the other small mines out of business. He was a Korean war vet and his brother had been shot down and killed over Germany in WWII, he said no, the government would not take the food off a man’s table. Before he died he realized I was right. Shame he had to see it.
Now we are seeing the end game. I was talking to a miner in the know and the company he works for has been around for decades, he told me they are only shipping a little coal to Georgia Power all the rest of their production is going to China.
I know a couple of power company executives well and I was told about massive rate increases and black outs and brown outs coming a couple or three years ago. They have now gone silent, they were told that if they spoke out they could kiss their jobs goodbye.
I was in the mountains this weekend and found out that 140 Fed mine inspectors has been sent either pink slips or the option of transferring elsewhere, I don’t yet know if it was to another agency or just another location. In the 70’s I told the inspectors that when they drove out the small mines the Feds would no longer need their services. I also talked to a retired Fed mine inspector and he me told they would no longer pay for one of the drugs his wife has to take costing him 95 bucks/month. As the old sayings go, what goes around comes around and aint payback a bi+ch.
There have been numerous lawsuits and what is happening is because of a lawsuit. Let me trace it from inception to present.
It starts in 2007 when SCOTUS ruled that CO2 was a pollutant and in the decision SCOTUS told EPA to determine the risk of CO2 and if needed, to regulate CO2 with the Clean Air Act. SCOTUS gave them the authority, they don't need legislation. Since EPA is an Executive agency, the power belongs to the Prez.
But, both Bush and later Obama wanted Congress to preempt EPA/Prez and pass legislation to regulate CO2. In 2008 Congress had the debate and the GOP won the debate with Cap and Trade. The Dems lost with cap and tax. So Congress would enact cap and trade in 2009.
But the House Cap and Trade legislation failed. In 2010 the Senate tried a scaled back version but it also failed. So Obama moved forward, and the lawsuits flew.
Numerous lawsuits with many, many plaintiffs including industry groups, the 20 republican controlled states, and political groups filed in 2010.
But before these lawsuits could be heard in court, in 2011, a second unrelated CO2 lawsuit reached SCOTUS. In this case 7 states and NYC had sued saying that CO2 was a "nuisance" and they should have the authority to regulate CO2. SCOTUS ruled against them saying only the federal govt via EPA had the authority, and that language re-enforced the SCOTUS 2007 decision.
Then in 2012, the numerous lawsuits from 2010 were combined and the DC Court of Appeals ruled entirely for EPA.
In 2013, the plaintiffs appealed the DC Courts decision to SCOTUS, who agreed to hear just a narrow part of it.
SCOTUS hasn't ruled on this. It is due out any day or any week..
It is said that the decision could have some small effect if the decision goes against EPA, but because of the court decisions in 2007, 2011, and 2012, EPA has pretty much everything they need.
But, if the decision does go against EPA, the GOP will use the decision to try to convince you that Obama is defying SCOTUS.
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