Tag Archives: Clean air act

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wiley Wednesday &some News


just anohter rant …

While I am among those who are advocating for Clean Air and the Clean Air Act as well as better EPA rules and regulations I am not among those who have decided to disregard information from the Obama Administration like those who seem to be ignoring the info and pushing more of the same meme about broken promises. I cannot subscribe to the meme of yet another cave or broken promise especially after reading the letter sent to EPA administrator, Lisa Jackson from OIRA administrator, Cass Sunstein. President Obama may have delayed did not block or roll back or compromised his promise to families with illness, kids with asthma and or people with lung, upper respiratory illnesses. Again, I do Support President Obama and coming from a family of asthmatics, i felt i had to look into what is being said and while it is important to maintain regulations that will positively affect our environment, I am not sure that the points being made by you and MoveOn.org considered the 5yr review cycle already in place. The letter that i am basing my comment and feelings states that EPA ruling is usually…. i say usually because apparently the left wants him to change the ruling before the 5 year cycle that it normally is on which is 2013 as stated in the letter below. I am not an expert but i did read the letter and what i read does not even come close to what you and a few other progressive organizations are claiming in my opinion. I would like someone to support your claim or admit that your call to action is because you feel progressives want action now not in 2013, which again is when the policy is set to be on review… again, as scheduled. I do not know about anyone else that supports move on or organizations that are claiming President Obama caved to Republicans when it looks like an attempt to keep the 5yr cycle intact though progressives seem to want what they want when they want. I am confused as to why try to change the policy cycle when in all actuality the policy will need a second vote and my question is why do that? However, with that said and knowing you disagree, there probably will be new information and even more important, new members of Congress who believe in improving the lives of their fellow Americans. Again, I do not believe at this moment that President Obama compromised his mandate but as we have all watched this is one of many things that he will need a better Congress in place to pass legislation on climate change, EPA rules/regulations. I feel our jobs are to vote in better a group of people (Congress) that should want to work for the Middle Class not eliminate it.

If you click on the link below you will find the letter from Cass SunStein. The letter is very honest and does not appear to be as sinister as your email projects out to be. I have to say the tone was offensive and not only prompted my response but I would like more information from valid sources not News Papers or online News sources like blogs that he in fact caved to Republicans and or the corporate world. I might agree that the three reasons used as an explanation sound political yet the 5yr review cycle does comes up in 2013 and I, like everyone else expect President Obama with a Congress that backs him to pass great legislation that will may all our lives improve. I have yet to see a statement from EPA Administrator, Lisa Jackson making such negative comments, so, until or unless the EPA Administer puts out a similar statement I have to say no to the call to action after reading the letter explaining why the delay. I have to ask, isn’t it obvious that any legislation regarding climate change is DOA given the Party of No continues to move further and further extreme right, which, if we Democrats get out the vote will change the dynamic with a positive move into the 21st Century and Number One in the Nation again.

Thank you for your time

 below is the letter from Cass Sunstein to Lisa Jackson

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/09/02/letter-oira-administrator-cass-sunstein-epa-administrator-lisa-jackson-o

Other News …

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and other Democratic leaders briefed reporters on Capitol Hill about jobs and the U.S. economy.

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The Senate Banking Committee considered the nomination of Richard Cordray, who President Obama selected  to run the new consumer watchdog agency, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).  A majority of Republican Senators promised to hold up Cordray’s nomination.

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The Democratic National Convention Committee and the Charlotte in 2012 Host Committee held its official convention kick-off event at the site of the 2012 DNC Convention, the Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, North Carolina.

More Info »

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Washington Looks at Security Ten Years After 9/11

C-SPAN networks bring you oral histories, memorial ceremonies all week

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From Capitol Hill

Senate Panel Examines Cybersecurity

White House cybersecurity proposal discussed

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Road to the White House

GOP Candidates Debate Tonight in California

C-SPAN.org will bring you post-debate reaction & analysis

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Attacking the EPA is NOT fiscally responsibl​e …Union of Concerned Scientists


Attacking the EPA is Not Fiscally Responsible

Lately, there has been a lot of talk in Washington, DC, about fiscal responsibility. Under the guise of cutting government spending, some lawmakers are taking a hatchet to many of the landmark laws that protect our health and the environment—such as the Clean Air Act. But attacking the Clean Air Act is both fiscally irresponsible and terribly short-sighted.

This legislation has a 40-year track record of cutting dangerous pollution and, in 2010 alone, helped prevent an estimated 160,000 premature deaths and 1.7 million asthma attacks. On August 2, the total value of the net benefits provided to Americans by the Clean Air Act since its inception reached a staggering $50 trillion.

Yet despite the massive benefits that this landmark piece of legislation provides to the American people, certain members of Congress continue to try to undermine the Clean Air Act by working to prevent the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from reducing dangerous global warming emissions and other harmful pollutants. This has grave implications for our health, our children’s health, and the health of Americans for generations to come.

While the House of Representatives is currently on recess, they will return to Washington to continue debate on H.R. 2584, a spending bill that outlines the budget for the Department of the Interior and the EPA. The bill is an all-out attack on our air, water, lands, and wildlife, and includes nearly 40 anti-health, anti-environment amendments—including an amendment that would prevent the EPA from reducing global warming emissions under the Clean Air Act. Protecting our health and the environment is the fiscally responsible thing to do.

Please write today and urge your representative to vote against this anti-health, anti-environment bill.

Take Action Now

Sincerely,

Chrissy Elles

Outreach Associate

UCS Climate & Energy Program

P.S. With the Congressional Recess starting this week, your representative is home in your state until early September. Many representatives will host town halls or be at public events. I encourage you to attend these events and ask your representative, in person, to protect our health and environment and oppose H.R. 2584.

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Breaking news: Major step forward for cleaner cars


July 29, 2011

UCS Applauds Obama Administration Agreement on Fuel Efficiency & Auto Pollution Standards

Statement by Michelle Robinson, Director, Union of Concerned Scientists’ Clean Vehicles Program

WASHINGTON (July 29, 2011) –The Obama administration today unveiled an agreement with major automakers and the state of California on a framework to strengthen the nation’s fuel efficiency and auto pollution standards for new cars and light trucks. This proposal, which will apply to vehicles sold in model years 2017 to 2025, will set a global warming pollution standard of 163 grams per mile by 2025, the equivalent of 54.5 miles per gallon (mpg) if met exclusively with fuel efficiency improvements, or a Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standard of 48-49 mpg assuming full use of air conditioning improvements. That would translate to a 2030 window sticker of about 36 mpg, up from 21 mpg today.

These standards build on the successful National Program for model years 2012 to 2016, which allows automakers to build a single national fleet to comply with Clean Air Act standards from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the California Air Resources Board (CARB), as well as Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards administered by the Department of Transportation (DOT).

The following is a statement from Michelle Robinson, director of the Union of Concerned Scientists’ Clean Vehicles program:

“These standards will give our cars and trucks a technology makeover. We will still see the same types of vehicles on the road, but they will be dramatically more fuel efficient, cost less to operate, and produce less pollution. For the second time, President Obama has brought together the auto industry, the states, and other stakeholders to support strong standards that will protect consumers from high gas prices, curb global warming pollution, cut our oil dependence, and create innovative jobs in the American auto industry. We applaud the Obama administration and California for moving forward with these important standards.

“The technology exists to make any car, truck or SUV cleaner and more fuel efficient, and these standards will unleash innovation in the auto industry.

“This agreement is an important step forward, but there are still parts of the plan that need to be resolved. If they aren’t implemented correctly, they could turn into loopholes. If automakers can meet the standards with accounting tricks instead of using better technology, the program’s overall benefits would be eroded. We look forward to working with the administration and different stakeholders to evaluate and revise these standards so they produce the best vehicles possible for consumers, the auto industry, the country and the planet.”

Based on UCS’s current understanding of the proposal and assuming no loopholes, UCS experts anticipate that the standards for model years 2017 to 2025 will deliver the following benefits in 2030 in addition to the benefits from the first round of standards:

  • Cut oil consumption by as much as 1.5 million barrels per day — 23 billion gallons of gasoline annually — by 2030. That is equivalent to U.S. imports from Saudi Arabia and Iraq in 2010.
  • Cut carbon pollution by as much as 280 million metric tons (MMT) in 2030, which is equivalent to shutting down 72 coal-fired power plants.
  • Lower fuel expenditures at the pump by over $80 billion in 2030 — even after paying for the cost of the necessary technology, consumers will still clear $50 billion in savings that year alone.

 

The Union of Concerned Scientists is the leading U.S. science-based nonprofit organization working for a healthy environment and a safer world. Founded in 1969, UCS is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and also has offices in Berkeley, Chicago and Washington, D.C.

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Urge Obama to protect our health


Unchecked global warming could threaten public health and increase health costs by exacerbating ground-level ozone—the primary component of smog. Fortunately, this fall the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will announce proposed standards to curb global warming emissions from our nation’s dirtiest power plants and later this year will issue similar standards for oil refineries. These standards will help protect the public’s health and our environment from the dangerous consequences of global warming.

However, the Obama administration is under enormous pressure from the coal and oil industries to release weak standards that will do little to nothing to protect our health and environment.

The administration needs to hear from you that the oil and coal lobbyists don’t represent your interests and that you want clear air policies that are based on science—not on the disinformation of corporate lobbyists.

We know the vast majority of the public stands with us on this issue. But sometimes agreeing from the sidelines is not enough. This is a fight worth joining—a chance to step up and really make a difference.

Tell President Obama to protect the health of the American people by ensuring strong Clean Air Act standards reduce global warming emissions.

Take Action Today!  202 456 1111

Sincerely,

Chrissy Elles
Outreach Associate
UCS Climate and Energy Program

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Thank Your Senator for Protecting Public Health


The Clean Air Act has a 40-year track record of using sound science to save lives, protect human health, and safeguard our environment. In 2010 alone it prevented an estimated 160,000 premature deaths and delivered net benefits of $1.2 trillion. And yet, certain senators are working to undermine the Clean Air Act by preventing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from reducing dangerous global warming emissions.

Last week, senators Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), John Rockefeller (D-WV), and Max Baucus (D-MT) all proposed amendments to an unrelated small business bill that would have prevented the EPA from protecting us from dangerous climate change. The most egregious of these anti-climate amendments went so far as to reject the EPA’s science-based finding that global warming emissions threaten public health and welfare. Others included provisions to delay or obstruct EPA action.

Fortunately, your senator opposed these amendments, all of which were ultimately defeated. But similar attacks on the Clean Air Act are sure to continue.

Please help ensure that the Clean Air Act continues to save lives and money by thanking your senator today for voting against these attacks on science and public health.

Take Action Today!

Sincerely,

Kate Abend

National Field Organizer

UCS Climate and Energy Program