Posted on 07/10/2022 3:39:22 PM PDT by karpov
To adapt what Stalin said of the Pope, how many divisions does the Supreme Court have? That seems to be the implicit slogan of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who on Thursday ignored the High Court’s recent ruling with a proposed rule requiring states to reduce CO2 emissions on highways—that is, banish gas-powered vehicles.
In West Virginia v. EPA, the Court ruled that regulatory agencies can’t impose costly new regulations without a clear direction from Congress. The feds had interpreted an obscure corner of the Clean Air Act to impose costly climate rules on power plants.
Now the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) wants to take this abuse of authority on the road. It cites an obscure provision in federal law that authorizes it to set national “performance” goals for the national highway system. The law defines these goals as safety, infrastructure condition, congestion reduction, system reliability, freight movement and economic vitality, environmental sustainability and reduced project delivery delays.
FHWA says this “environmental sustainability” language allows it to regulate CO2 emissions. Mr. Buttigieg needs a vocabulary lesson. Climate and environment are different even if the left conflates them.
While rising CO2 emissions over time affect the climate, these effects are global. Federal highway performance standards are intended to protect the local environment from traditional vehicle pollutants such as NOx or from highway construction. Brushing past this inconvenient distinction, FHWA declares that its “proposed GHG measure would help the United States confront the increasingly urgent climate crisis.”
The Biden Administration’s climate ends always justify its illegal regulatory means. FHWA claims that states will have flexibility in setting CO2 reduction targets but in the same breath declares they must align with the Administration’s goals to reduce emissions. In other words, states have flexibility as long as they do as the Administration tells them.
(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...
Isn’t it time for Buttgig to take another maternity leave?
I’ve had my fill of Secretary of Transportation Monkey Pox.
I am so sorry we each must endure the terrible loss of our loved wives.
My prayers up for you.
Thank you.
When we are open to giving love we become vulnerable to the loss of that loved one.
I understand. I lost one very close friend and one very close family member just months apart in 2020.
It gets better, but you never stop missing them.
I will keep you in my prayers for your comfort and strength.
Thank you. The prayers and good thoughts of FReepers have helped me cope these past months.
God bless you and yours.
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