Go EPA!
Posted by Ethan on Friday, November 12, 2010
Hey Neergs!
If you don't know, EPA stands for Environmental Protection Agency. Their mission is to protect human health and the environment. Unfortunately, Big Oil, Dirty Coal and conservatives that align with them don't always see eye to eye with the EPA. The good news for us is that the Supreme Court actually made a really good ruling in 2007 giving the EPA the power to act on harmful gases like carbon dioxide emissions as provided under the Clean Air Act. The Republican party isn't happy about this of course, but Lisa Jackson, director of the EPA is going to run with her power to protect our rights to clean air and slow global warming.
If you read Christopher Mims article in the Huff post today, he talks about how Dirty Coal was the big winner of the recent election (make sure to see Alexandra Costeau's video on the home page). Joe Manchin (R) is the newly elected senator in West Virginia--supported with substantial contributions from the coal industry. Mr. Manchin's campaign featured him shooting a hole in the climate bill--nice, right? So, I'd say that's a giant step backward for West Virginia. This battle between the EPA and the Congressional Republicans is really heating up--a bad pun, but true nevertheless! It's a battle we need to keep our eyes on. I find it ironic that regional leaders are already constructing plans to deal with climate change and rising water levels--especially on our coasts--while at the same time the Republican climate deniers continue to attack the agency working to prevent climate disaster. Yes, climate legislation is probably dead at the federal level for the next two to four years while the Republicans are in power, but that doesn't mean we go on holiday. If regions and states can work hard to pick up the slack, so can we. It's not too late to sign our climate legislation petition. We plan to keep it up until January 1st. Do your part and speak up!
If you don't know, EPA stands for Environmental Protection Agency. Their mission is to protect human health and the environment. Unfortunately, Big Oil, Dirty Coal and conservatives that align with them don't always see eye to eye with the EPA. The good news for us is that the Supreme Court actually made a really good ruling in 2007 giving the EPA the power to act on harmful gases like carbon dioxide emissions as provided under the Clean Air Act. The Republican party isn't happy about this of course, but Lisa Jackson, director of the EPA is going to run with her power to protect our rights to clean air and slow global warming.
If you read Christopher Mims article in the Huff post today, he talks about how Dirty Coal was the big winner of the recent election (make sure to see Alexandra Costeau's video on the home page). Joe Manchin (R) is the newly elected senator in West Virginia--supported with substantial contributions from the coal industry. Mr. Manchin's campaign featured him shooting a hole in the climate bill--nice, right? So, I'd say that's a giant step backward for West Virginia. This battle between the EPA and the Congressional Republicans is really heating up--a bad pun, but true nevertheless! It's a battle we need to keep our eyes on. I find it ironic that regional leaders are already constructing plans to deal with climate change and rising water levels--especially on our coasts--while at the same time the Republican climate deniers continue to attack the agency working to prevent climate disaster. Yes, climate legislation is probably dead at the federal level for the next two to four years while the Republicans are in power, but that doesn't mean we go on holiday. If regions and states can work hard to pick up the slack, so can we. It's not too late to sign our climate legislation petition. We plan to keep it up until January 1st. Do your part and speak up!