As The World Warms, Environmental Protections Put On The Back Burner

[GoLeft TV]

From DeSmogBlog - http://desmogblog.com/world-warms-environmental-protections-put-back-burner

After a year that has so far produced record-breaking snowstorms, droughts, floods, and violent hurricanes and tornadoes, environmental protections are once again being scaled back. Against the best advice of experts, the U.S. EPA has decided to delay issuing new rules for greenhouse gas emissions, the deadline for which is September 30th. This marks the second time in three months that the EPA has missed a deadline for issuing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions standards.

In their announcement, the EPA said that they are aware that it is their responsibility to move forward with new GHG standards, but they want to consider all of the available information before issuing a final ruling. According to an EPA spokesperson, one factor that the agency is still trying to figure out is the cost of the new measures.

Under the Clean Air Act, the EPA is legally required to put restrictions on any air pollutant that is deemed unsafe for the American public. Thanks to a recent decision that GHGs are a threat to the public, this means they are required to put new standards in place. In addition to legally being required to regulate, the EPA is also not allowed to consider costs when making their decisions, meaning that their current “evaluation” period should not be extended to examine costs.


This new announcement comes on the heels of President Obama’s recent decision to roll back smog standards that the EPA had already put in place. The White House succumbed to a tremendous amount of pressure that the Republican Party had placed on the administration to curb the power of the EPA. The smog standards in place would have reduced ground level ozone levels, which have been shown to cause asthma and other respiratory problems.


Read the full story at Desmogblog - http://desmogblog.com/world-warms-environmental-protections-put-back-burner

[madokie]

1. Our environmental protections is one of the reasons we are where we are today

wages too. It doesn't have to be this way though and we shouldn't allow it to be but here we are asshole deep in assholes. The assholes were telling us when the environmental laws were being passed that they'd look elsewhere for manufacturing where there was no environmental regulations and did just that. In the process they found out that there were a lot of people who would work for pennies on the dollar to boot. Corporations should be regulated to where they can't do this but instead we've got the party of hate and discontent protecting them. I thought we'd won these battles years ago and we had but we still lost the war as we're back having to fight the same battles again. Top 20% Y U NO PAY TAXES I ask? Us regular Janes and Joes are getting tired of carrying this load all by ourselves but if we want any semblance of a government of caring we must continue to trudge on.

At the time I didn't think the corporations would move all the machines and factories off shore and that was a mistake on my part, a mistake on many of our part.

[Speck Tater]

2. But on the bright side... The greatest threat to life on earth will soon make itself extinct. nt