U.S. House Votes to Amend Clean Air Act, Gut EPA Greenhouse Gas Regulation

April 8, 2011 by


Led by Representative Fred Upton (R-Michigan), the U.S House of Representatives voted Thursday to amend the Clean Air Act to ban the regulation of greenhouse gases in order to address climate change. Gases to be unregulated include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, sulfur hexafluoride, hydrofluorocarbons and perfluorocarbons.

Despite its passing, the bill (H.R. 910) dubbed “The Energy Tax Prevention Act of 2011” is seen largely as symbolic. The Senate is unlikely to pass the bill and President Obama has promised to veto it should it reach his desk.

The bill remains significant, however, as it is a large political accomplishment for Representative Upton, recently appointed as Chairman to the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee. Politico.com identified Upton as “at the center of GOP efforts to stop the Obama administration’s energy, technology and health care agenda,” and the bill’s passage demonstrates his growing political influence in congress.

Upton said placing limits on carbon dioxide emissions would be “all economic pain and no environmental gain,” resulting in higher prices for electricity and gasoline. “Left unchecked, EPA’s actions would have a devastating impact on jobs, U.S. competitiveness, and domestic energy prices,” Upton said.

But Henry Waxman (D-California), regarded as one of the most influential Democrats in congress, declared the bill “anti-science, anti-environment and anti-health.” “The EPA made a scientific determination that carbon pollution endangers our health and environment  … Yet this legislation repeals that scientific finding. That’s something no congress has ever done,” he said.

The bill passed on a 255-172 margin, falling along party lines with 19 Democrats voting for it. Michigan’s representatives in Congress voted strictly according to party, with Republicans voting for the bill and its restrictions on the EPA with Democrats voting against. Find a breakdown of the vote below:

Yea         MI-1      Benishek, Dan [R]
Yea         MI-2      Huizenga, Bill [R]
Yea         MI-3      Amash, Justin [R]
Yea         MI-4      Camp, David [R]
Nay        MI-5      Kildee, Dale [D]
Yea         MI-6      Upton, Frederick [R]
Yea         MI-7      Walberg, Timothy [R]
Yea         MI-8      Rogers, Michael [R]
Nay        MI-9      Peters, Gary [D]
Yea         MI-10    Miller, Candice [R]
Yea         MI-11    McCotter, Thaddeus [R]
Nay        MI-12    Levin, Sander [D]
Nay        MI-13    Clarke, Hansen [D]
Nay        MI-14    Conyers, John [D]
Nay        MI-15    Dingell, John [D]

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Clean Air Act Threatened

April 7, 2011 by

By Kyle Pray

Update:

Four amendments introduced to limit the EPAʼs ability to protect the Clean Air Act failed to pass in the Senate. Senator Stabenow, who voted in favor of her own amendment, did not receive support from fellow Michigan Congress member, Senator Levin. Levin did, however, vote in favor of the Baucus amendment, which would have protected “smaller”emitters from EPA regulation. Many other Michigan environmental groups including Anne Woiwode and our friends at the  Sierra Club Chapter are requesting explanations from Sen Stabenow and Sen Levin regarding their “polluter” support.

In the House the news was less optimistic. The Upton bill, which was defeated in the Senate under the McConnell amendment, passed in the House.

This week the EPA is under attack as four measures that would restrict the agencyʼs authority prepare to be voted on in the House and Senate. Most notably is H.R. 910 -Energy Tax Prevention which seeks to ignore scientific findings and prevent the EPA from upholding the Clean Air Act (CAA).  The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the CAA grants the EPA the authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions.

Two of Michiganʼs very own, U.S. Rep Fred Upton and U.S. Sen Debbie Stabenow are among those submitting EPA related measures.  Uptonʼs H.R. 910, the major bill in question, will likely pass with support from Republicans as well as Democrats from oil and coal producing states.

The White House released a statement today noting the bill “contradict[s] the scientific consensus on climate change,” and eliminated any doubt of a veto.

However, Stabenowʼs amendment calling for a two year suspension of EPA greenhouse gas regulations was not addressed by the president. Rather the bill, Senate Bill 493, seeks to reauthorize the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs of the Small Business Administration.  The amendment  allows for coal power plants and oil refineries a two year exemption from reporting on emissions.

Senator Stabenow issued a statement on the amendment:

“My amendment is a common-sense approach that allows protections from carbon pollution, determined by scientists and public health experts, to continue being developed while providing businesses the support and incentives they need as they reduce pollution, generate new clean energytechnologies and create jobs.”

After repeated attempts, Stabenow was unavailable for direct comment on the amendment.

This comes after the EPA and Justice Department filled suit against DTE Energy. Currently in court, the case regards Michiganʼs largest coal power plant located in Monroe. Last year, the site received $65 million in renovations and upgrades, however, the overhaul neglected to address a key issue — the plants pollution problems.

Also of note are speculative plans to build and expand coal power plants in Holland and Rogers City – now green-lit by the Snyder administration following local rulings.

Photo courtesy: http://conservative-outlooks.com/2011/03/24/american-lung­association-with-epa-funds-targets-rep-fred-upton/

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Map Predicts Global Climate Change Impact-Levels

March 24, 2011 by

A map developed by McGill University PhD candidate Jason Samson predicts in detail the most vulnerable areas of the world to global climate change through the year 2050.

View the large map in PDF here.

Michigan and the United States appear to be moderately affected, but less-developed areas of the world will face significant change. Ironically, those areas of the world hardest-hit are those least-responsible for green-house gas emissions and those already dealing with high temperatures and drought conditions, as noted by the Environmental News Network’s (ENN) Karina Grudnikov.

Excerpt from McGill University’s press release on the story:

Samson and fellow researchers combined climate change data with censuses covering close to 97 percent of the world’s population in order to forecast potential changes in local populations for 2050. Samson’s team found that if populations continue to increase at the expected rates, those who are likely to be the most vulnerable to climate change are the people living in low-latitude, hot regions of the world, places like central South America, the Arabian Peninsula and much of Africa.

In these areas, a relatively small increase in temperature will have serious consequences on a region’s ability to sustain a growing population. ‘It makes sense that the low latitude tropical regions should be more vulnerable because the people there already experience extremely hot conditions which make agriculture challenging. An increase in temperature over the next few decades will only make their lives more difficult in a variety of ways,’ says Samson.

View the full online McGill press release here.

View the abstract of Samson’s academic study, published online by the journal Global Ecology and Biogeography, here.

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American’s Belief in Climate Change Decreasing

March 4, 2011 by 5 Comments

In a study performed by The Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy at the University of Michigan, it was found that American’s belief in climate change has been declining in the last several years. The study surveyed Americans and Canadians and asked questions regarding their belief in climate change, the seriousness of the issue, and what actions should be taken in response to the issue. The results are disheartening to many who have been working to publicize the threat. Americans are less likely than Canadians to believe in climate change and to be willing to pay for renewable energy and more likely to believe that scientists are overstating the evidence.

In the fall of 2010, only 58% of Americans surveyed believed there is solid evidence of global warning, compared to 80% of Canadians. This number is down from the fall of 2008 when 72% of Americans believed there was evidence for climate change. The biggest determining factor of climate change belief in the United States was political party affiliation: 69% of Democrats were found to agree with the statement that there is evidence of global warning compared to 49% of Republicans.

Americans are also less willing than Canadians to pay extra to create more renewable energy. When asked how much extra they would be willing to pay, 41% of Americans said they would not be willing to pay anything. Only 21% of Canadians gave the same response and 26% of Canadians said they would pay $100 or more, compared to 13% of Americans.

The results of the study raise questions for many organizations that have been working to educate the public global warming. What has caused the numbers to drop and what has caused the difference in beliefs between two countries with similar climate change standards? What steps should be taken in the future to combat a falling level of climate change belief?

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The Curious Case of Fred Upton

February 8, 2011 by

Over at HuffPo, Friends of the Earth President and former Southwest Michigan resident Erich Pica has penned a mildly inflammatory piece on how Rep. Fred Upton, the Republican from St. Joseph recently named Chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, has gone from moderately pro-environment to zealously anti-regulation faster than it takes a tea pot to boil.

We’ve made some similar observations about Upton over the past month and will be releasing some more thoughts in the weeks to come.  Pica, like most of the environmental community, is upset at the veto-bait Upton introduced this week seeking to peal back key air quality protections and certain regulatory powers.

We all know a Fred Upton.

He’s the coworker who was your friend until he got promoted and “went corporate.” He’s the athlete who played to bring a championship to his home town before following a larger contract to a bigger city. He’s the buddy who was always around until he got into a relationship and didn’t have time for you any more.

Fred Upton is the Republican congressman who used to have interesting ideas about reducing emissions and fighting climate change. But then he ran for chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Now, he has staffed his committee with lobbyists and today he is introducing a bill that seeks to roll back Clean Air Act protections against pollution from factories and power plants.

A a longer excerpt after the jump. Read the full story at The Huffington Post here.

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GR Mayor George Heartwell Gives Global Warming Call To Arms in State of the City

February 5, 2011 by

Perhaps his honor has been reading The WMEAC Blog these past few weeks.  In his annual State of the City address, Grand Rapids Mayor George Heartwell made a connection between global warming and extreme weather events such as this week’s Groundhog Day Blizzard…a case we’ve made here several times of late.

“I’ve had so many people ask me this week, ‘Where are you and Al Gore now?’” said Heartwell, whose speech calls for more trees, public transit improvements and a new program to reduce energy consumption in downtown buildings.

For those who question the blizzard as proof of global warming, Heartwell said warmer global temperatures means less ice on Lake Michigan, more evaporation and thus, more snow in the winter and more rain in the summer.

“It sounds weird but it’s true,” said Heartwell, adding he believes it’s the city’s responsibility to prepare for global warming, regardless of whether it’s man-made or part of the planet’s natural cycles.

“The earth’s temperature has already increased and will continue to rise,” he said. “That ought not to deter us from our mitigation efforts; we should still improve transit, reduce power consumption and plant more trees.”

The Mayor called for a trio of measures to address the issue on a local level.

Energy improvements for downtown buildings could be funded through bank-financed loan pools and grants by private foundations, Heartwell said. A similar program in Chicago helped cut energy costs for hundreds of downtown buildings, he said.

Heartwell noted the city has set a goal of increasing its urban tree canopy from 34 percent to 40 percent by 2040 – an increase of 185,000 trees.

He also endorsed a May ballot initiative that will raise more funding for The Rapid public transit system and its goal of creating a new rapid transit line.

We’ll have a more in depth analysis after the weekend.

Catch up on some of our recent posts on climate change and extreme weather here, here, here and here.

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Turning Up the Heat: Converting Global Climate Change Skeptics

February 4, 2011 by

With extreme winter weather taking the Northern United States by storm, disbelief in global climate change is on the rise. Staff writers for the Washington Post, Juliet Eilperin and David Fahrenthold, report:

While the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported last week that 2009 tied as the second-warmest year on record, this week two new public opinion polls have confirmed a trend reported last fall: As Washington has focused more on climate change, the American public has come to believe in it less.

On Wednesday, Yale and George Mason universities released a survey showing that just 57 percent of people said global warming “is happening.” That was down 14 percentage points, from 71 percent, in October 2008. Fifty percent of people said they were “very” or “somewhat” worried about global warming, down 13 points from 2008.

How to make believers out of skeptics: a quandary shared by churchgoers and environmentalists alike.  A recently published study from Jane Risen of the University of Chicago and Clayton Critcher of the University of California, Berkeley, offers possibilities for a new approach.

Enlisting American university students as their experimental group, Risen and Critcher created questionnaires asking for students’ opinions in regards to varying political topics, including global climate change.  The first set of surveys was conducted out of doors in temperatures ranging from 49 to 89 degrees Fahrenheit.  For the second set, students responded in cubicles, half of which were heated by a space heater to 81 degrees, and the other half of which were controlled at 73 degrees, eight degrees cooler.

Surprisingly enough, Risen and Critcher found that students who filled out their questionnaires in warmer environments were more likely to say they believed in global warming, indicating the visceral nature of belief.

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Winter Weather & Climate Change: A Report from the National Wildlife Federation

February 2, 2011 by

With the National Weather Service’s winter advisory in effect for the Great Plains and Midwest region, extreme winter weather is on the mind for many in the Northern United States.  Now is the perfect time for the global warming skeptics in your lives to come out in full force.  For those of you looking for a resource to equip you with meaningful research in the face of these doubters, the National Wildlife Federation’s recently published report, “Odd-ball Winter Weather: Global Warming’s Wake-Up Call for the Northern United States,” offers a great place to start.

The report provides significant charts and graphs detailing recent weather trends in the Northern United States, including shorter winters, rising temperatures, heavier precipitation, and declining ice cover in the Great Lakes.  According to the research, Spring arrives 10 to 14 days earlier than it did just 20 years ago.  Additionally, average December-May ice cover for the Great Lakes has declined by about 17% per decade since the 1970s.

What does all this have to do with winter storm warnings?  Winter temperatures often hover over the freezing point, and the slightest change in temperatures can make a big difference.  As temperatures rise, precipitation increases because warmer air can hold more water.  In West Michigan, lake-effect snow becomes especially prominent because a decline in ice cover in the Great Lakes allows for more surface water evaporation.

The NWF report reads:

Even as global warming is slowly changing the character of winter in the United States, we will still experience familiar year-to-year variability.  Because many different variables affect winter conditions – including temperature, moisture availability, storm tracks, and natural climate oscillations – and because global warming affects these variables in different ways, scientists do not expect a steady progression to less wintery conditions.

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