Obama to Pa.: Unchange your climate
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Obama to Pa.: Unchange your climate
President Barack Obama may be in favor of change -- but apparently not when it comes to the climate. Less than a week into his presidency, Team Obama will reverse a controversial, Dick Cheney-fueled decision of the Bush White House and allow states to curb greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles:
WASHINGTON — President Obama on Monday will direct federal regulators to move swiftly to grant California and 13 other states the right to set strict automobile emissions and fuel efficiency standards, two administration officials said Sunday evening.
The directive makes good on an Obama campaign pledge and marks a sharp reversal from Bush administration policy. Granting California and the other states the right to regulate tailpipe emissions is one of the most dramatic actions Mr. Obama can take to quickly put his stamp on environmental policy.
The presidential orders will require automobile manufacturers to begin producing and selling cars and trucks that get higher mileage than the national standard, and on a faster phase-in schedule. The auto companies had lobbied hard against the regulations and challenged them in court.
Although it's not spelled out in the Times article posted tonight, one of those states is Pennsylvania. The Rendell administration adopted stricted standards in late 2006, only to see them thwarted along with California's by the federal government. According to the original Pennsylvania announcement:
Pennsylvania’s clean vehicles program locks in model year 2008 as the compliance date for new emission standards for new passenger cars and light-duty trucks in the commonwealth. The program also requires automakers to make their overall fleet cleaner than would be required by the federal government. Sticker prices of the cleaner vehicles are identical to the “dirtier” versions.
I'm sure opponents will take either two routes, which is to say 1) These laws were enacted before the Great Recession changed everything, but that ignores the evidence that cleaner cars will actually be good for the economy on a number of levels or 2) "Ha, ha -- global warming? It's 20 degrees out!," which is too ridiculous to even dignify with a response. This was a change that Obama promised, and for the American majority that wants to see action on climate change, it's a breath of fresh air.
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Ok. I have had enough "liberal" bashing. Why don't we go and make "conservative" a dirty word too? I'll start us off. Conservatives are stupid. Conservatives are greedy. Conservatives are selfish. Conservatives are ignorant. Now, wasn't that productive? Name calling will get you nowhere. It is just irritating, right? I would think anyone who considers themselves "conservative" would feel that way about now. Now, more to the point. Why do people believe that "joe sixpack" has a better understanding of science than scientists? That is like getting a diagnosis from your doctor, but then doing a poll of random people to actually decide what your diagnosis is. How about if we try the same thing when your car is broke? Or if you need to defend yourself in court? Highly educated people are experts for a reason. They might actually know what they are talking about.— Docbegone- Comment removed.
- Global warming is completely unproven scientifically, and most of the tinfoil-wearing politicians and celebrities that spout its platitudes are utter hypocrites. That being said, enforcing higher emissions standards is a common-sense good idea and something that the car companies can easily do...and should have been doing for some time now. Same goes for fuel efficiency.— Tartan69
- This is ridiculous. First, there should be only one entity setting auto emissions standards, and that is the federal government. Allowing each of the 50 states to set their own creates a patchwork of regulations. Plus it forces the auto industry to put out performance hampered vehicles precisely at the time when they are fighting for their survival. And to boot, prices of all vehicles will go up to absorb the costs to comply with the law. All this due to questionable science... and we can't even get half the diesels that euro car companies have available.— MattPSU
"In the poll, released Thursday by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center, global warming came in last among 20 voter concerns; it trailed issues like addressing moral decline and decreasing the influence of lobbyists. Only 30 percent of the voters deemed global warming to be “a top priority,” compared with 35 percent in 2008.": Source-NYT.— jmc- Comment removed.
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- ""Ha, ha -- global warming? It's 20 degrees out!," which is too ridiculous to even dignify with a response. " This from a guy who makes posts about hot summer days in Philly being proof of global warming. "for the American majority that wants to see action on climate change" Global warming was about 20th on the list of concerns of Americans in a recent poll. Meanwhile, the sun is still not moving fully into the next sunspot cycle and global temps have cooled over the last couple of years (unless you cite Hansen data that counted September data in Russia again for October). Slower sunspot cycles and reduced activity are indications are that we could be heading into another Dalton Minimum-type event, and that produced signficant cooling in the early 1800s. Let's hope it doesn't get to Maunder Minimum levels - that was depths of the Little Ice Age and a time of tremendous human suffering. Stuff you know if you study actual science such as paleoclimatology, as opposed to the fake computer-modelled science produced by the likes of Hansen and his ilk.— db_cooper
- While anthropogenic global warming is certainly not scientifically proven, it seems to me that anything that we can do to reduce CO2 emissions, as well a reduction the amount of any form of airborne goop, would be beneficial globally. Of course, doing this in an economically responsible manner is the trick. Otherwise, we could (in the extreme) simply outlaw all trucks and automobiles and return to the days of horse and buggy. This action would serve to help the environment, but would decimate our economy. Where and how we draw the line is the big question.— legatus
- "I have often noted, no responsible scientist doubts that this global warming is caused by the increase of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere; " I love your use of the word 'responsible' here. It is a completely subjective approach to what should be an objective process. And it allows the human-caused global warming cultists to dismiss offhand serious and legitimate science that calls their dogma into question. And the approach is a playbook right out of Lenin: "Why," he demanded, "should we bother to reply to Kautsky? He would reply to us, and we would have to reply to his reply. There's no end to that. It will be quite enough for us to announce that Kautsky is a traitor to the working class, and everyone will understand everything."— db_cooper
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- "I guess the good news is at least these exec orders didn't get innocent Afghans or Pakistanis murdered by your Messiah today. " I'm not gonna try and score points against Obama for having Hellfire candygrams delivered to al Qaeda members via Predator drones. I agree some of his nutcase supporters are now going to either turn on him or pull a double standard, but as long as he is doing the right thing, I could care less about them.— db_cooper
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