It’s Getting Hot In Here

bff

…screwing over you and me!
Today the EPA Deputy Director announced today that he will solidify his status as lapdog of the Bush/Cheney administration by taking no concrete action against CO2 emissions, as mandated in Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency, and passing the buck to the next administration. Johnson (I can’t think of a more appropriate name) will yet again go against the resounding call of his own EPA scientist’s recommendation for immediate action on CO2 regulation and join the Bush Administration in sticking his head in the sand, and holding his breath until February.

Johnson returned to the EPA’s fifth-floor conference room to inform his staff that he would abandon the idea of drafting a formal rule and would instead call for the “advanced notice,” which only invited comment on possible regulation. This would avoid “any unintended consequences” that could stem from a broad rule curbing carbon dioxide, he said…EPA will unveil what is known as an advance notice of proposed rulemaking. This stands in stark contrast to the agency’s original Dec. 5 finding — backed up by a lengthy scientific analysis — that global warming is unequivocal, that there is “compelling and robust” evidence that the emissions endanger public welfare and that the EPA administrator is “required by law” to act to protect Americans from future harm.”

Now I’m not at all surprised by the perpetual feet dragging of this administration, the empty commitments of Bush at the G8 summit in Japan, or the hand of the Cheney advisers using Johnson as a puppet (sounds uncomfortable). What does dumbfound me is the absolute refusal to acknowledge that CO2 emissions have adverse health effects.

“Officials said some staff advocated saying that it endangered both human welfare and health, instead of just welfare; while others — reflecting broad utility and coal industry concerns — argued that invoking health would lead more quickly to costly regulation of carbon dioxide emissions by power plants as well as cars… In a late October briefing, Johnson’s staff warned him against leaving out health risks, noting in a PowerPoint presentation that doing so “creates potential for confusion, criticism, suspicion — e.g., is EPA downplaying public health risks and/or ignoring the science of climate change, in order to avoid doing more?”
“By late November, Johnson had held a meeting with his staff at which he advocated finding a danger to public welfare and praised the agency’s technical supporting document as “excellent.” But when Burnett sent the proposal to the White House, the staff refused to open it”

(The Washington Post actually has a pretty comprehensive report of all the events that transpired.)

The last bit is the part that blows my mind. The administration knew what was in the report, they knew public health was directly impacted and they played “out of sight out of mind” tactics. The Administration treated this email report the same way I treat penis enlargement emails. Maybe the subject line wasn’t clear enough? Well it’s pretty clear that the feet dragging has hit a new level. What is also clear that the audacity of the Bush/Cheney climate onslaught has hit a new ‘forehead slapping” WTF!

On the very same day that Bush and Johnson turn a blind eye to the Supreme Court decision the administration takes a new and amplified plea to congress to start that drilling for black gold! We need the goods before August break, according to Bush, and congress is dragging their feet. As Bush sees it

“They have a responsibility to explain to their constituents why we should not be drilling for more oil here in America to take the pressure off of gasoline prices,”

Did he really just use the word responsibility? Well I’m pretty confident he didn’t pronounce it right.

Well it looks like Johnson might just want to push this to Congress. I say do it! Let Congress get their hands on it, because by the time Powervote amplifies our climate needs, and Powershift 09 takes over DC February 27- March 2, 2009 , we’ll have leverage we need for real regulations to turn this crazy train around.