Just
when you thought there wouldn’t be another executive order…Oh wait, you likely
never thought that because you know the President loves using the power of the
pen to guide America into troubling waters.
This
time the emperor… err, the President… is using the power of his office to sign
America up for new climate change policies, helping align the U.S. with the UN.
That’s bad news if you enjoy not having to submit yourself to onerous
regulations and new taxes.
The
good news? His executive order might not last longer than a few years… if he
does manage to sign it. Coleen Conley gives us the
details about what
could reverse Obama’s new executive order:
Much like the March 9th letter written by 47 GOP
members warning Iran against a nuclear accord, Republican leaders have warned
other countries to “proceed with caution” in negotiations with Washington
regarding climate change because any deal could be later undone.
The Obama administration released a plan for U.N.
climate change on Tuesday, in which it seeks to solidify its pledge to a global
climate agreement to be negotiated late this year in Paris. The plan calls for
cutting greenhouse gas emissions by close to 28 percent from 2005 levels within
a decade, using a host of existing laws and executive actions targeting power
plants, vehicles, oil and gas production and buildings.
Republicans insist the administration cannot
proceed with the unilateral international action without Congressional
approval. “Considering that two-thirds of the U.S. federal government hasn’t
even signed off on the Clean Power Plan and 13 states have already pledged to
fight it, our international partners should proceed with caution before
entering into a binding, unattainable deal,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch
McConnell said.
But the Administration is standing tough, stressing
that the U.S. official submission stands on sound legal footing, with the
measures drawing authority from legislation such as the Clean Air Act and the
Energy Independence and Security Act.
The lead U.S. climate change negotiator, Todd Stern
continuously ensures foreign counterparts that “undoing the kind of regulation
we are putting in place is very tough to do.”
All of this is occurring while many of the
administration’s climate policies, under which much of the its arguments rest,
face legal challenges. A federal appeals court in Washington, D.C. is set to
hear arguments on April 16, in which 13 states oppose new regulations from the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that target emissions in existing power
plants.
Surrounded by such uncertainty of the United
States’ ability to deliver on Obama’s commitments, foreign governments remain
skeptical.
On Monday, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy insisted
that new power plant rules can withstand Supreme Court scrutiny.
But Jeff Holmstead, a lawyer representing utilities
industries and former assistant administrator of the EPA under George W Bush,
says even if the courts uphold the EPA proposal on power plants, a future
Republican administration can reverse it. “There are some EPA rules that are
very difficult for a new administration to change but this is not one of those
rules,” Holmstead said.
Environmental groups, however, are confident that
Obama’s actions cannot be reversed by the courts or politics. Said David Waskow,
director of international initiatives for the World Resources Institute, “The
Clean Air Act has proven to be quite durable.” He believes that elements may be
slowed or modified by legal challenges, but are rarely overturned.
One thing is clear; the Obama Administration is
determined to use the power of the EPA as a weapon to slash carbon levels from
plants to 30 percent of their 2005 levels by 2020, regardless of its impact on
the US economy or the legality of such actions.
But
here’s the kicker in all of this.Two new studies have just shown that the
evidence for global warming is even weaker than thought.
A
piece by the Daily Caller noted, “A study by scientists at Germany’s Max Planck
Institute for Meteorology found that man-made aerosols had a much smaller
cooling effect on the atmosphere during the 20th Century than was previously
thought.”
This
shows that the idea that CO2 emissions are probably not the driving force of
global warming like so many alarmists say. The other study published in Nature
Climate Change says despite deforestation, the earth is already getting
greener. Why? Because plants love CO2 and are helping absorb any manmade
emissions.
All
this to say, if Obama signs this executive order, not only does it stand the
chance of being repealed, there’s now a glut of scientific research to hack the
initiative off at the knees.
Now
tell us, do you think the GOP will make good on the promise?
Comments
I will believe the GOP will make good on its
promise when it finally starts making good on its promises.
Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader
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