More Garbage Conservative Constitutional Theory
James Joyner is one of the few conservatives who actually try to come up with intellectually coherent policy positions, and he often does. So maybe we should give him a pass when he blows it. But wow, is this one a doozy. The EPA has decided to begin to issue greenhouse gas regulations, as it is entitled to do both by the plain meaning of the Clean Air Act and by Supreme Court precedent directly on point. Yet somehow Joyner insists that this is ruling by “execut...
CONTINUE READINGObama, the GOP, and the Environment
The NY Times has a Christmas Day editorial about the need for the President to take a strong stance in defense of EPA: Republicans in the next Congress are obviously set on limiting the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate a wide range of air pollutants — even if it means denying the agency money to run its programs and chaining its administrator, Lisa Jackson, to the witness stand. Fred Upton, who will become the next chair...
CONTINUE READINGHappy Birthday, EPA!
Forty years ago, President Nixon created the Environmental Protection Agency by Executive Order. Here are some of the achievements that EPA lists on its EPA@40 website: [W]e've reduced 60% of the dangerous air pollutants that cause smog, acid rain, lead poisoning and more. clean air innovations like smokestack scrubbers and catalytic converters in automobiles have helped. Today, new cars are 98 percent cleaner than in 1970 in terms of smog-forming pollutants. Sixty-pe...
CONTINUE READINGDon’t Know Much Biology
Actually, I'm fond of the song, but the headline isn't really accurate as a description of the public's views of evolution. The (relatively) good news, according to Gallup, is that "only" 40% of the public think that humans were created in their present form in the last ten thousand years. Obviously, they "don't know much about biology," so the song is right as far as it goes, but they also don't know a thing about atomic physics, which is the way we know just how old...
CONTINUE READINGGOP Environmental Policy FAIL
Last month, when discussing the egregious subsidies for ethanol that expire this year, I commented, "Here is a great test to see whether Republican anti-government and anti-spending rhetoric is any more than that." Well, so much for that: Renewable Fuels Association president Bob Dinneen says they are thrilled with passage of the Senate tax package that includes a one year extension of current ethanol tax incentives.... Dinneen says the blender’s tax credit has been ...
CONTINUE READINGWhite House scientific integrity guidelines — a long wait for not much
Early on in the Obama administration, promoting scientific integrity in government decisionmaking seemed to be a high priority. Less than 2 months after his inauguration, the President issued a memorandum giving the Office of Science and Technology Policy 4 months to "develop recommendations for Presidential action designed to guarantee scientific integrity throughout the executive branch." On December 17, OSTP Director John Holdren finally issued his own memorandum in r...
CONTINUE READINGWhat a Gas! A Rare Win-Win
Oil and gas wells vent or flare off natural gas. New technology shows that this is actually a lot more gas than anyone knew -- about four percent of production, according to GAO. Capturing that natural gas for sale would give the government millions of dollars in royalties. Vented gas is methane, a more potent greenhouse gas than the CO2 which would be emitted if the gas were captured and burned. If captured, gas that is currently flared could be sold, replacing part...
CONTINUE READINGThoughts on the latest Delta smelt ruling
As Sean pointed out yesterday, this week federal District Judge Wanger issued another ruling in the ongoing litigation over protection of the Delta smelt and restrictions on diversions from the Sacramento-San Joaquin river system. Reviewing the opinion, my first reaction was sympathy for the judge and his staff. There is no question that sorting through all the issues, the competing arguments, and the supporting scientific evidence in this case presents extraordinary cha...
CONTINUE READINGA big news week for the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta
This has been a significant news week for California's delta. On Wednesday, California's Natural Resources Agency endorsed a plan for a water tunnel system to bypass the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, coupled with a habitat restoration plan for the Delta. Bettina Boxall's story in today's Los Angeles Times has the details. Many environmental groups oppose the plan, a variation on the so-called peripheral canal plan from decades ago. (This L.A. Times article ...
CONTINUE READINGCalifornia designates new Marine Protected Areas
The California Department of Fish and Game has created a new network of state-designated Marine Protected Areas, as Tony Barboza reported today in the Los Angeles Times. This action, controversial because of its restrictions on fishing in the protected areas, begins to fulfill the promise of California's decade-old Marine Life Protection Act. As this detailed map of the new reserves shows, the new reserves are in Southern California, and many of them are located off th...
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