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Originally Posted by aceventura3
I disagree. I would say it is more like giving the IRS the ability to write tax law selectively requiring some to be held to one standard and others to another standard.
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Amends the Clean Air Act to prohibit the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from promulgating any regulation concerning, taking action relating to, or taking into consideration the emission of a greenhouse gas (GHG) to address climate change. Excludes GHGs from the definition of "air pollutant" for purposes of addressing climate change". - HR 910
In the 1990 acid rain was becoming a serious issue for urban centers. The EPA implemented the Acid Rain Program which introduced hidden environmental costs of burning coal into the energy equation. This got much flack at first but the energy industry dealt with it and ARP eventually became a success. Now if we go back to 1990 and apply the same GOP strategy as we are using today they'd be asking the EPA to pretend Acid Raid doesn't exist. From a scientific standpoint: is this a logical way to deal with a problem?
Quote:
Originally Posted by aceventura3
There are costs, but there are benefits. I would like honest discussion of the two. The pretense that severely limiting US industry through and unreasonable regulation has no negative consequences is unacceptable. There will be no honest debate until there is real acknowledgment of the trade-offs from environmentalists.
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I believe it's the GOP who are suffering from selective ignorance to the real costs here. We are very well aware of the financial costs but the entire planet is in jeopardy. We have to account for environmental damage in the price of our energy. The sooner we do this the better. This is supply and demand 101. Raise the cost of energy and stimulate our industry to come up with solutions. Just look at what happened in Europe: gas prices went up and the auto industry developed vehicles that are twice as efficient as US counterparts. That is progress.
There is only two ways out of this. Either we all sit on the fence and wait for our world to fall apart or we start making progress towards fixing this problem. If it's the later then the sooner we begin to move forward the further ahead we'll be technologically when countries like China finally decide to come into the 21st century.
Speaking of being stuck in the 20th century...
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Let’s face it, these regulations and others from EPA amount to a war on domestic coal.omgomg Coal is the energy source America possesses in the greatest abundance.omgomg It provides half the nation’s electricity and 92 percent in my home state of Kentucky, and it does so because it is affordable.omgomg “ - Ed Whitfield
House Energy and Commerce Committee Republicans Press Release :: Upton and Whitfield Urge Support of the Energy Tax Prevention Act to Protect American Jobs and Families
This is about acknowledging science and facing reality Ace. I know you are worried about money. I'm worried about money too. My business will be effected by raising energy costs. My electricity costs are already through the roof and shipping costs are getting out of hand. But I want to leave this planet in a decent shape for my children.