Posted on 06/08/2015 12:42:07 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
President Obama has announced or will soon propose important protections for clean water, clean air, threatened species and threatened landscapes. Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader, and other Republicans in Congress are trying hard not to let that happen — counterattacking with a legislative blitz not seen since Newt Gingrich and his “Contract With America” Republicans swept into office after the 1994 midterm elections bent on crippling many of the environmental statutes enacted under Presidents Johnson and Nixon. Bill Clinton threatened or used vetoes to block that assault. Mr. Obama should be prepared to do the same.
The usual complaints about “executive overreach” and “job-killing regulations” have been raised. But beneath all the political sound bites lies a deep-seated if unspoken grievance that Mr. Obama is actually trying to realize the promise of laws that Congress passed years ago but wouldn’t stand a chance with today’s Congress. The nonsense about regulatory overkill has also infected the presidential campaign, the latest manifestation being a batty suggestion from Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin to shift the functions of the Environmental Protection Agency to the states. Mr. Walker presumably hopes to please business, but it would be hard to think of anything more unsettling to executives than the prospect of having to operate in 50 states with 50 different sets of rules — or anything more harmful to the evenhanded enforcement of federal environmental laws.
Here are some of the points of Republican attack:
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
".....It probably won't surprise you to learn that none of the prospective GOP presidential candidates are exactly champions of the environment. Probably the least bad is New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who at least acknowledges that climate change is real and caused by human activity. Walker just might be the worst. He hasn't said much about the science of global warming. (In the video above, you can watch him tell a little kid that his solution to the problem will center on keeping campsites clean, or something.) But his track record of actively undermining pro-environment programs and policies while supporting the fossil fuel industry is arguably lengthier and more substantive than that of his likely rivals.
"He really has gone after every single piece of environmental protection: Land, air, water—he's left no stone unturned," said Kerry Schumann, executive director of the Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters. "It's hard to imagine anyone has done worse."
Here's a rundown of Walker's inglorious history of anti-environmentalism.............................................."
"White House Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett is quietly working behind the scenes to build a coalition of major U.S. corporations to back President Barack Obama’s goal of hashing out a global agreement to cut greenhouse gas emissions at the upcoming United Nations summit in Paris.
The Daily Caller News Foundation obtained a letter that outlines how, by the end of June, Obama is looking to build a coalition of businesses to show support for UN climate talks. After that, the White House will then try to grow this group of businesses to 250 in the run up to the Paris talks this November.
The way the letter is written, it’s likely being circulated by someone or some group on behalf of the White House. The source could not disclose who was circulating the letter on the White House’s behalf, but did confirm the business they work for was approached to support the Paris climate talks.
According to the letter, the White House is asking U.S. businesses “to show support [for] the climate change discussions to take place in late November in Paris.” The letter further states that Jarrett and her staffer Robert Diamond are “working to garner business support through outreach to a number of corporations … with the goal of securing 12 to 15 ‘anchor partners’ by the end of June.”
The letter specifically mentions Cargill, Pepsi, Walmart, Johnson & Johnson, General Electric, Dow Chemical, Google, FedEx and UPS as examples of some of the companies Obama is trying to enlist in his climate coalition.
Each company that joins, however, would be required to sign onto a pledge stating their support for global carbon dioxide emissions reductions. The so-called “American Business Act On Climate Pledge” reads as follows:....
The letter says the White House will announce this climate-conscious business coalition during the summer...."
All of the scientists down at the New Yawk Slimes editorial board speak their brilliance.
NYT = supporting federal control/governance until there is global control/governance.
NYT - MAY 28, 2015: U.S. to Limit Petroleum Drilling on Habitat of Greater Sage Grouse
"The Obama administration, aiming to keep a finicky, chickenlike bird called the greater sage grouse off the endangered species list, moved on Thursday to limit petroleum drilling and other activities on some of its wide-ranging habitat in the American West.
The move — which includes a collection of 14 land-management plans across 10 states — stems from a determination in 2010 by the federal Fish and Wildlife Service that the bird, a potent symbol of the West known for its flamboyant courtship strut, was in need of protection. Millions of the birds once ranged across the wild prairies, but their numbers have plunged far and fast, down to 150,000 from 400,000, environmentalists estimate.
The Fish and Wildlife Service has until the end of September to determine what, if any, additional protections the grouse needs. But while many environmentalists say the bird is threatened if emergency action against industrialization is not taken soon, business interests say that adding it to the endangered species list could stifle the development of vast energy resources in Wyoming and nearby states, including natural gas fields, coal mines and wind farms.....
......“The restrictions that will be put on oil and natural gas development are not based on good science and exaggerate the threat of energy development to the bird,” said Kathleen Sgamma, vice president for government and public affairs at the Western Energy Alliance, a Denver-based petroleum industry group. “We continue to believe the states are the best place to conserve the sage grouse.”
The battle between environmentalists and those who want to develop industry has echoed the conflict over logging in Oregon in the 1990s to save the spotted owl. It has even attracted the attention of Republican lawmakers in Congress who have been trying to block the Interior Department, which oversees the Fish and Wildlife Service, from making the designation. Their most recent effort was an amendment to the $612 billion defense policy bill that would keep the lesser prairie chicken and American burying beetle from the list as well."....
Precisely. The march of fascism has gained massive momentum under Obama. It is remains to destroy it, root and branch.
Walker is correct. The EPA basically runs sections of the Kansas Dept of Environment. Small towns are being railroaded into taking out huge loans (from the Feds, don’t you know) to build water treatment facilities that address more and more ridiculous EPA orders. Tiny towns with fed & state bureaucracies demsnding they indebt their people for millions if dollars. Towns’ attempts to research other options treated as treason. Yes, getting rid of the EPA is a good first step.
"...Lysenkoism is used metaphorically to describe the manipulation or distortion of the scientific process as a way to reach a predetermined conclusion as dictated by an ideological bias, often related to social or political objectives..."
Do you think the nut jobs will let some pesky little grouse stand in the way of their crony capitalism?
Thousands of dead birds say otherwise ...
Any suggested change to the liberal status quo is an “assault”.
One of Walker’s themes has been more local control of government. The progressives want BIG government and forceful control.
Walker must be doing something right into to warrant the daily hits in the media and by the “he’s not pure enough” folks on FR.
Memo to NYT Editorial Staff:
They are the usual complaints because they are true. Furthermore, look up the Little Ice Age. Also, check sun spot activity. Toss in national security and the fact that the American environment is cleaner than it was 20 years ago and you can simply declare victory and back away from all new regulations. Give the federal lands back to the states and good night.
Sincerely, America
PS feel free to move en masse to Europe where everything is perfect.
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