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WASHINGTON, DC — A bill that would strip the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions moved forward Tuesday toward a full vote in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee passed the Energy Tax Prevention Act of 2011 Tuesday on a 34-19 vote, with all Republicans and three Democrats in support. At the same time, Senate Republicans attached duplicate legislation to an upcoming small business bill.
The House bill, also known as H.R. 910, would repeal the agency's finding that greenhouse gases are pollutants that endanger public health. The bill introduced last week would also repeal the mandatory reporting of greenhouse gases and restrict the EPA from granting federal waivers for stricter fuel standards for vehicles made in 2017 or after, as it has previously done for California.
"This really is a shocking attack on states' rights and on public health," Stanley Young, spokesman for the California Air Resources Board, told the San Francisco Chronicle in a story published Monday. Young estimated H.R. 910 estimated could roll back upcoming cuts in pollution and petroleum consumption by 25 percent nationwide.
Bill co-sponsor Fred Upton (R-Mich.) initially billed the legislation as a job-saver and antidote to rising gas prices, a statement debunked by PolitiFact. Republicans have promised a full House vote before the Easter recess. Though passage seems likely in the House, its fate in the Senate is uncertain.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee spent hours debating the bill before it passed, with Democrats offering a range of amendments that were largely rejected, such as amendments affirming that humans are causing climate change.
"We are free as a political body to ignore science," said Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), according to Politico. "But just remember this: We are not experts, we are congressional experts. And a congressional expertise, when it comes to science, is an oxymoron; it's a contradiction in terms, like jumbo shrimp or Salt Lake City nightlife."
Image CC licensed by Flickr user Rob Crawley.
To JR's comment - all I can
To JR's comment - all I can say is, how sad. (1.) Just because JR and others in the "general population" don't believe in climate change, doesn't mean it doesn't exist. (2.) While I understand his strict interpretation of the Constitution (much like these people's belief that the Bible is the absolute word of god), that fact is, the Constitution not only provides, but dictates that the government of the United States - yes, the "federal" government, and our freely elected representatives - promote the general welfare of the country's citizens. (3.) Two questions I never see these ignorant people get asked, but would love to see answered are these: (a.) Does pollution have negative impacts on human health? Sure, these people can waste all the time they want arguing over the origins of climate change, trying to deny whether it is caused by humans or not, but the fact still is, pollution can harm people. Carbon monoxide, and air and ground water pollution cause cancers and asthma and a whole host of other issues of health. Any argument? (b.) Does industry pose potential risks to human health and commerce? The answer is clearly yes. You can't build unregulated oil rigs or nuclear plants without a 100% guaranteed accident just waiting to happen. Accidents that impacts people, kill people, destroy entire regions, commerce and infrastructure.
So, all this having been said, JR, please stop being so ignorant (or perhaps you are doing this intentionally or through some paid arrangement with corporate sponsors?). Democracy means you sometimes don't get your way, and that our freely elected representation sometimes needs to balance interests to achieve a middle-ground solution that can have lasting positive effect. You are entitled to your own opinions, but you are just as human and fallible as any other. Don't go committing the grave sin of thinking you're right, just because some preachers and politicians agree with you. Given your political leanings, I'm guessing you're Christian as well. So remember this: Jesus was murdered by preachers and politicians - and allowed to die by the masses of people who chose to follow their leaders' ignorance, rather than stand up for what is truly right.
As long as the vast majority
As long as the vast majority of science agrees that global climate change is real and is man-made, climate change deniers have no case. The only way their arguments will gain credibility if for them to get the vast majority of science to agree with them. Otherwise it is no better than arguing that the moon is made of cheese and, instead of trying to prove their argument, claiming that scientists are wrong about it because they have an agenda. ...Or claiming that the earth is flat or that the solar system revolves around the earth and not the sun. All of these cockamamie claims have equal footing with climate change denial under current scientific thought. And the people that argue for flat earth or geocentrism claim that the prevailing science is a lie perpetrated by scientists with a hidden agenda. Why? Because their claims are unsupported by facts, so they must resort to ad homs, conspiracy theories and nonsense.
Better vote another
Better vote another republican presidential candidate
You know as republicans they
You know as republicans they dont believe in pffff global warming and climate change. To them thats liberal garble. The republicans in office in the pockets of big business believe in an unregulated market that led to the bailout bullshit an unregulated business thats leading to more and more pollution. Well as long as 90% of the wealth is in 10% of the population this is the world we get. Crappy air, crappy water, fossil fuels and mcdonalds. HOORAY FOR CAPITALISM
A lot of people in the
A lot of people in the general population don't believe in global warming, either. As a conservative leaning libertarian, I don't believe in global warming. I don't believe in man-made climate change. I believe that people, namely liberals with a cause, scientists on the dole of liberal groups, and Manbearpig (AlGore) have perpetuated this falsity that they now need to keep going. They've gotten to the point where their call for change has reached a shrill pitch, and there's backlash now, because we can't afford this stuff, at least, not right now.
Further, from a Constitutional standpoint, the federal government has no right to set federal standards for emissions or fuel mileage. It's not in the enumerated powers, and the only way the federal government has gotten away with it for so long is because of the overstated and over-applied 'Interstate Commerce Clause.' The ICC does not allow the federal government to manipulate whatever they like, the federal government only believes it can do that. Court rulings have blatantly misinterpreted that clause for years, and it's finally getting some questions as to why.
You only see the side you
You only see the side you believe in, the evil, greed centered Conservative Right. You are on the side of Big Money, Big Oil, and small government interference in your relentless pursuit of the almighty Dollar. Regular folks who bear the brunt of the hard work done in this and any nation will suffer the most from pollution's negative affects. There are NO positive effects from carcinogens, green house gases and continued reliance on old fashioned and outdated, nearly obsolete energy sources. More money for the already obscenely rich is not a positive, at least not for the majority of human beings. Your stance is transparently and obviously a slap in the face of the Common Good and as such is a form of Treason against your fellow countrymen and women and the Constitution of these United States of America. I dare say you present an attack on our National Security by promoting hatred against the majority of Americans, whether they know it or not. You have no regard for the welfare of your fellow man. No argument from you or any of your fellow fear mongering greedy cohorts can refute any of my statements with any credibility. We need wind, solar, Thorium Powered Reactors instead of the weapon producing Uranium reactors causing all of the problems in Japan. Electric and very gas efficient hybrid cars and better, updated infrastructure. Regulate the bad out of existence and promote and invest in the good, eco-friendly, life friendly everything. Evil's time is about up. The end will not be pretty...... Guess which side the majority will want to be on, because you're on the side of Unsustainable Liabilities. Science is right about all of these Climate Change warnings. Only a fool ignores Truth and hundreds of Facts. Greed blinds people to common sense. Call me anything you want. I know I'm right. You won't change that, ever.
You are a gutless coward and
You are a gutless coward and a mindless sheep. You only see the side you believe in, the evil, greed centered Conservative Right. You are on the side of Big Money, Big Oil, and small government interference in your relentless pursuit of the almighty Dollar. Regular folks who bear the brunt of the hard work done in this and any nation will suffer the most from pollution's negative affects. There are NO positive effects from carcinogens, green house gases and continued reliance on old fashioned and outdated, nearly obsolete energy sources. More money for the already obscenely rich is not a positive, at least not for the majority of human beings. Your stance is transparently and obviously a slap in the face of the Common Good and as such is a form of Treason against your fellow countrymen and women and the Constitution of these United States of America. I dare say you present an attack on our National Security by promoting hatred against the majority of Americans, whether they know it or not. You have no regard for the welfare of your fellow man. You are a predator of the most worthless sort. A menace to Society. No argument from you or any of your fellow fear mongering greedy cohorts can refute any of my statements with any credibility. We need wind, solar, Thorium Powered Reactors instead of the weapon producing Uranium reactors causing all of the problems in Japan. Electric and very gas efficient hybrid cars and better, updated infrastructure. Regulate the bad out of existence and promote and invest in the good, eco-friendly, life friendly everything. Evil's time is about up. The end will not be pretty...... Guess which side the majority will want to be on, because you're on the side of Unsustainable Liabilities. Science is right about all of these Climate Change warnings. Only a fool ignores Truth and hundreds of Facts. Greed blinds people to common sense. You are certainly proof of that. Call me anything you want. I know I'm right. You won't change that, ever.
Your argument flies in the
Your argument flies in the face of logic and fact....just in case that matters. What possible reason would environmentalists have for scheming up the whole climate change issue. I mean really??? Believe me I would much rather be out hiking or enjoying myself anywhere than working on this climate issue that greedy bastard corporations and ignorant lazy individuals have created! Listening to this rhetoric on and on about this being fiction...I mean really?....So let me get this straight - the Greenland and Antartic ice sheets aren't melting - that's just some piece of fiction? What's NASA in on this too? I guess all the trees where I live must be in on it too since I guess they're all just "pretending" to die....and I guess all the increase in asthma in children - that's a hoax too....I'm sure you don't believe in environmental related cancers and the people who died after the gulf oil spill from the dispersants....all lies as well? Chernobyl another hoax? All those people moved out because they were bored? Oh I know us environmentalists staged the whole things because we were bored! You just don't want to accept it because then it puts some level of responsibility on YOU as well to maybe get off your lazy ass and get out of your homogenized frappacino-land covered in concrete comfort zone and wow actually make changes in your own life....
You know I just love people like you - you use science when it suits your needs and then when you don't like what it says or it's just not convenient for you then it's all lies and made up BS....I imagine you must be some Hummer driving McMansion lovin conservative fool who thinks we'll just move to another planet when we wipe out everything on this one....hey as far as I'm concerned...you can move now why wait?
That's a load of crap. Where
That's a load of crap. Where was all your concern about the Constitution while Bush and Cheney and Ashcroft were eating it for breakfast over the course of 8 years?
And we can't afford green technologies that will give us green jobs and get us out from under the thumb of OPEC and China now, but we can afford billion-dollar tax breaks for the rich? Give me a break and give up the hypocrisy.