
Among the new Congress members taking seats are a doltish group of climate deniers who plan to launch an investigation in to fake controversies like ‘ClimateGate.’ Neela Banerjee of the LA Times explains further:
The GOP’s fire will be concentrated especially on the administration’s efforts to use the Environmental Protection Agency‘s authority over air pollution to tighten emissions controls on coal, oil and other carbon fuels that scientists say contribute to global warming. The attack, according to senior Republicans, will seek to portray the EPA as abusing its authority and damaging the economy with needless government regulations.
In addition, GOP leaders say, they will focus on what they see as distortions of scientific evidence regarding climate change and on Obama administration efforts to achieve by executive rule-making what it failed to win from Congress…Republicans assert that the science on climate change is not yet “settled,” despite the vast global scientific consensus about its human causes.
Sarah Laskow of Truthout notes some of the new climate denying senators:
These latter states include North Dakota, whose new senator, John Hoeven, made Grist’s list, and Indiana. Also on the list are Marco Rubio, from Florida, Kelly Ayotte, from New Hampshire, and Pat Toomey, from Pennsylvania.
Perhaps most disheartening is the replacement of Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) with Senator-Elect Ron Johnson. Johnson is to the right of the independent-minded Feingold on a host of issues, but as Mother Jones‘ Andy Kroll writes, “What landed Johnson in headlines earlier this year was his claim that climate change wasn’t created by humans but instead was the result of ’sunspot activity.’â€
This is more worrisome considering that President Obama seems to have given up on fighting for a climate bill.
I think there are a lot of Republicans that ran against the energy bill that passed in the House last year. And so it’s doubtful that you could get the votes to pass that through the House this year or next year or the year after…what we’re probably going to have to do is say here are some areas where there’s just too much disagreement between Democrats and Republicans, we can’t get this done right now, but let’s not wait.
David Jenkins of the FrumForum urges Obama to use his “bully pulpit” and act on this issue:
There is a great case to be made for putting limits on GHG emissions to reduce our heavy dependence on finite fossil fuels, improve our national security, safeguard our atmosphere, and beat China to the punch by providing American companies the regulatory certainty needed to unlock investment in alternative energy and conservation technologies.
This is something that Americans of all political stripes could be convinced to support. Unfortunately, President Obama seems incapable of producing the passion, words or effort required to convincingly make that case to the public. “Yes, we can†has become “well, maybe, if someone else goes first.â€
When I want climate science information I ask a climate scientist. Not a politician. These clowns couldn’t calculate two standard deviations if I gave them the value of the first one.
The ‘Climate Bill’ passed in the House but was “dead on arrival†in the Senate; because the Senate knew that “global warming†was science fraud and that “green jobs†was economic fraud. http://www.larouchepac.com/greenfascism
Ice Age or Global Warming?
http://www.larouchepac.com/node/9961
Civilization, as we know it, is almost finished. Whether we fry the planet, poison it, or just manage to kill ourselves off with disease or nukes doesn’t seem to matter. OC will continue to be run by the local crime family (starts with an R!) and we’ll probably starve after the next earthquake. The folks who want to put their head in the sand about CO2 concentration in the atmosphere will not find their Hummers will save them.
Have a nice day.
EPA (Environmental Protection Agency)control of CO2: Obama’s Vehicle to Destroy the US Economy is Launched
http://www.climatechangedispatch.com//politics-propaganda/7433-epa-control-of-co2-obamas-vehicle-to-destroy-the-us-economy-is-launched
Unfortunately, I see the same Republican leaders and many of the tired old ideas that actually helped get us into the black hole we are experiencing. The Republicans have two years to get their act together, or they will be tossed out the door just like the recent experience of the Democrats.
Bottom line is forget the partisan crap including the investigations of this and that. Forget the repeal of Obamacare, the votes are not there. However, Obamacare can be addressed as a secondary goal, to dissect, analyze and make changes where needed.
The first and only priority for Congress in the foreseeable future should be the economy and getting people back to work. This can only be achieved by attacking out of control spending, cutting waste including earmarks, reducing taxes, especially those impacting business and stopping other government interventions which negatively impact business. That is a tall order for the bureaucrats who are at each others throats, instead of working for the country. The voters are watching and could be just as angry, or even more so, come the election of 2012.