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Obama's climate change police View attachment 8150
By Steve Hargreaves, staff writerFebruary 2, 2010: 6:55 AM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The Copenhagen climate talks went nowhere. The Senate's attempt to pass a global warming bill appears stuck. But that's doesn't mean greenhouse gas laws aren't coming.
The Environmental Protection Agency, spurred by a Supreme Court ruling, is racing to fill the void. As early as March, the EPA could be required to cap greenhouse gases from things like power plants and large factories, essentially doing what Senate Democrats want, without a messy vote.
Some say it's a great idea. It could put a serious dent in greenhouse gas emissions and go a long way to cleaning up the environment. Others say it could jeopardize investment in industry and hurt job creation.
A tight spot
The EPA didn't really ask for this new power, and most lawmakers pushing to restrict greenhouse gases, in Congress and the administration, would prefer Congress to pass a new global warming law.
But EPA is being forced to act thanks to a challenge from the state of Massachusetts and others back in 2007. Massachusetts said global warming was eroding its coastline, and pushed the EPA to regulate greenhouse gases from vehicles.
The Supreme Court more or less sided with Massachusetts, saying EPA must either classify carbon dioxide - the main gas behind global warming - as an endangerment to public health and regulate it, or say it's not.
The Obama administration, like most scientists, believes it could be a danger.
So come March, EPA will begin regulating carbon dioxide from vehicles - largely through tighter fuel economy standards that have already been announced. Once that happens, the next step, legally, is to regulate it from everything else.
"They are compelled to move forward," said Max Williamson, head of the climate program at Andrews Kurth, a law firm that represents both renewable and fossil fuel energy companies.
0:00 /4:51Climate fatigue at Davos?
Williamson is among those who believe using EPA, and specifically the Clean Air Act, to combat global warming is a bad idea. [more]
http://money.cnn.com/2010/02/02/news/economy/epa_global_warming/index.htm
Obama's climate change police View attachment 8150
By Steve Hargreaves, staff writerFebruary 2, 2010: 6:55 AM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The Copenhagen climate talks went nowhere. The Senate's attempt to pass a global warming bill appears stuck. But that's doesn't mean greenhouse gas laws aren't coming.
The Environmental Protection Agency, spurred by a Supreme Court ruling, is racing to fill the void. As early as March, the EPA could be required to cap greenhouse gases from things like power plants and large factories, essentially doing what Senate Democrats want, without a messy vote.
Some say it's a great idea. It could put a serious dent in greenhouse gas emissions and go a long way to cleaning up the environment. Others say it could jeopardize investment in industry and hurt job creation.
A tight spot
The EPA didn't really ask for this new power, and most lawmakers pushing to restrict greenhouse gases, in Congress and the administration, would prefer Congress to pass a new global warming law.
But EPA is being forced to act thanks to a challenge from the state of Massachusetts and others back in 2007. Massachusetts said global warming was eroding its coastline, and pushed the EPA to regulate greenhouse gases from vehicles.
The Supreme Court more or less sided with Massachusetts, saying EPA must either classify carbon dioxide - the main gas behind global warming - as an endangerment to public health and regulate it, or say it's not.
The Obama administration, like most scientists, believes it could be a danger.
So come March, EPA will begin regulating carbon dioxide from vehicles - largely through tighter fuel economy standards that have already been announced. Once that happens, the next step, legally, is to regulate it from everything else.
"They are compelled to move forward," said Max Williamson, head of the climate program at Andrews Kurth, a law firm that represents both renewable and fossil fuel energy companies.
0:00 /4:51Climate fatigue at Davos?
Williamson is among those who believe using EPA, and specifically the Clean Air Act, to combat global warming is a bad idea. [more]
http://money.cnn.com/2010/02/02/news/economy/epa_global_warming/index.htm
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