Energy Update

Kansas City's Chris Stigall had a terrific segment on energy costs and utility companies earlier this week. Check out the excellence:

Drop.io

And yet, Barack Obama is pushing forward via his EPA to destroy the American economy and way of life in the name of climate change that isn't. This week, they announced even tighter restrictions on smog which will have a potentially devastating effect on millions around the country:

This misguided proposal is yet another example of environmentalism run amok. If implemented, it will hamper America's economic recovery by increasing energy costs for businesses, without creating any offsetting health benefits.

The EPA proposes setting the primary standard of smog between 0.060 and 0.070 parts per million (ppm), below the current level of 0.075 ppm. This would force thousands of American power plants to install expensive smog-reducing equipment, such as scrubbers. The agency optimistically estimates that the plan will cost between $19 billion and $90 billion -- costs that will be passed on to American businesses and consumers, and result in even more job losses. Hardly the tonic our flagging economy needs.

They say children are most at risk to the negative health effects. That should be your first clue: 'do it for the children' is right up there with 'bipartisanship' as key words that should immediately prompt you to be suspicious. And this is no exception:

...levels of air pollution in America have been declining rapidly since the 1950s despite increases in energy consumption and automobile use. According to air quality expert Joel Schwartz, "Even the worst areas have far better air quality than was typical of American cities during the 1950s, '60s, or '70s." Further improvements in air quality are bound to happen anyhow, as technology develops and as vehicles and power plants become cleaner.

Studies show that more regulations really don't correlate to cleaner air, and there is no new evidence that justifies this new ruling. The only change is the people running the EPA. Hmmm...

Here's the bottom line:

...the Obama administration wants to increase the cost of energy. The President's flagship global warming policy, "cap and trade," remains stalled in the Senate, with Senators of both parties all too aware of the damage it will do to their states. The President, however, promised in his election campaign that energy rates would "necessarily skyrocket," and the smog rule is another way to achieve that end without having to bother with the messy business of gaining Congressional approval.

And as bad as Congress is, the American people still have a way to get rid of the bad ones from time to time (whether or not we do is a different question), but an unelected bureaucrat making disastrous new rulings while hiding inside the EPA? There's nothing we can do about that. Makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, doesn't it? Rest assured, this will affect every American, regardless of race, income level, or location. And it will not be pleasant.

Fortunately, not everyone is on board. Rep. Earl Pomeroy (a Democrat, incredibly) introduced legislation to prevent the EPA from enacting such disastrous measures without Congressional approval:

"Regulation of greenhouse gas emissions under the current provisions of the Clean Air Act is irresponsible and just plain wrong. That is why I introduced the Save Our Energy Jobs Act which would stop the EPA from moving forward with its proposal. I am not about to let some Washington bureaucrat dictate new public policy that will raise our electricity rates and put at risk the thousands of coal-related jobs in our state.”

Thank you, Mr. Pomeroy!

He is correct. I would highly encourage you to call your Rep and ask them to support this legislation - it will protect millions of businesses, which in turn will protect millions of Americans from the 'skyrocketing' costs of Barack Obama's energy plans.

There's my two cents.


Related Reading:
The EPA's Goldilocks Rule
The Obamessiah's Energy Plan: More and Less