Secretary of State John Kerry recently called climate change “the world’s most fearsome weapon of mass destruction.” The Environmental Protection Agency says it is “happening right now.”
Based on these and other dubious claims, the EPA issued rules shutting down hundreds of coal-fired power plants and preventing new ones from being built. Then it said the regulations will bring “ancillary” health benefits from general air pollution reductions, beyond the nearly 90% reduction in unhealthy U.S. emissions since 1970, even as coal-based electricity more than doubled.
Next, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy said her new “Clean Power Plan” isn’t really about pollution control. It’s an “investment strategy,” to encourage renewables by making fossil fuel use increasingly expensive or legally impossible, and justifying more taxpayer billions to subsidize wind, solar and biofuel energy.
Now the EPA is redefining its goals yet again. “At the core of EPA’s mission,” Ms. McCarthy recently said, “is the pursuit of environmental justice – striving for clean air, water and healthy land for every American,” by “reducing remaining pollution, especially in low-income neighborhoods.”
The concept is vintage Obama Administration: Deliberately vague, infinitely malleable, heavily race-based, and decided by executive fiat. Equally problematical, the EPA’s own policies and programs undermine these supposed “fairness” and “justice” objectives. It’s an invitation for more EPA money, personnel, power, and control.
However, the agency is adept at ignoring and hiding its harmful impacts on American citizens, especially the very people the EPA claims to be helping.
Overall median household income increased barely $180 between 2012 and 2013, and was still $5,000 below the 1999 level, Census Bureau data show. Perhaps worse, since Mr. Obama took office, median incomes for much of his voter base have plummeted: nearly $3,000 for black households, $2,500 for Hispanic families, and $1,500 for households headed by single mothers. Unemployment rates for these groups are likewise much higher than for the general population.A primary reason is the federal government’s $1.9 trillion in annual regulatory compliance costs for U.S. businesses and families – of which the EPA alone is responsible for $353 billion – the Competitive Enterprise Institute calculates.
Ms. McCarthy is nevertheless determined to advance President Obama’s agenda of slashing fossil fuel use, making electricity prices “necessarily skyrocket,” and “fundamentally transforming” the United States. That translates into fewer job opportunities and steadily higher prices for electricity, motor fuels and everything we make, grow, ship, eat, drive and do.
Minority, elderly, and other low-income groups are far less “disproportionately affected” by air pollution than they are by having to spend disproportionate amounts of their declining incomes on heating, air conditioning, food and other basic necessities, whose costs continue to rise, largely because of the EPA and other federal anti-energy, anti-growth policies.
Our air is already safe. The EPA’s own Urban Air Toxics report chronicles reductions of 66% in benzene levels, 84% in airborne lead, 84% in mercury from coal-fueled power plants, and over 90% in particulates (soot). So the EPA pays its Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee and the American Lung Association millions of dollars a year to say otherwise.
“Investing” in “Green” energy technologies requires taking greenback dollars from hard-working taxpayers – and delivering them to crony corporatists and campaign contributors who seek hefty profits from climate scares and renewable mandates. Wind and solar electricity are inherently unreliable and cost many times more than power generated with coal, natural gas, or nuclear.
Soaring energy and regulatory costs mean people lose their jobs. Dependency replaces hopes, dreams, pride, and work ethics. If they can find new positions, motivated people must often work multiple lower paying jobs, commute longer distances, and spend greater portions of their incomes on transportation.
More people suffer greater sleep deprivation, stress, depression, drug and alcohol abuse, spousal and child abuse, and poorer nutrition and medical care. More have strokes and heart attacks. More die prematurely.
EPA’s climate-based 54.5-mile-per-gallon standards mean cars are lighter and less safe in accidents. More people suffer severe injuries or get killed. Minority and other poor families are at greatest risk, because they cannot afford vehicles with advanced safety features.
As Congress of Racial Equality national chairman Roy Innis emphasizes, access to abundant, reliable, affordable energy is the key to improving lives, living standards, and civil rights.
These are all matters of social and environmental justice. EPA simply ignores them.
EPA-style justice also reflects an ugly premise that undergirds many Obama Administration policies: that low-income people are victims of business people who threaten their health and communities – if they don’t support liberal/Democrat agendas and candidates.
These sentiments are a divisive throwback to Occupy Wall Street. They ignore the fact that Mr. Kerry, climate alarmist political bankroller Tom Steyer, President Obama, and their crony-capitalist fundraiser dinner companions are all part of the 0.1%.
Despite often oppressive taxes and regulations, businesspeople create jobs, give workers opportunities to earn livings and support their families, and develop the employment and life skills to successfully climb the socio-economic ladder.
Those who violate environmental, health, safety, tax, and other laws are penalized – whereas all too often the regulatory overseers escape any accountability for accidental, incompetent, and even deliberate actions that hurt their fellow citizens.
Ms. McCarthy should base environmental policy on sound science – and check her phony justice rhetoric at the door.
Dude, what are you actually even saying!? It was pretty hard for me to get through this article, given all the bias etc, but are you actually implying that renewable energy equates to “greater sleep deprivation, stress, depression, drug and alcohol
abuse, spousal and child abuse, and poorer nutrition and medical care.
More [people] have strokes and heart attacks. More die prematurely.”
And: “EPA’s climate-based 54.5-mile-per-gallon standards mean cars are
lighter and less safe in accidents. More people suffer severe injuries
or get killed. Minority and other poor families are at greatest risk, because they cannot afford vehicles with advanced safety features.”
This is like kindergarten level logic!! Dear god, CFACT, who approves this crap? The CEO of ExxonMobil would surely give a more impartial view on renewable energy than this article…
Firstly, oil and gas are renewing energy sources.
Secondly, wind and solar still cost more energy to create than they provide over their lifetime.
Only crony capitalism keeps these ideas afloat.
Electric cars plug into coal plants instead of burning much cleaner gasine.
But the bigger picture is that the marketplace would solve all of these issues if government cronies from oil companies, and from “green” energies would be barred from stealing tax money.
“Oil and gas are renewing energy sources”…… What?? It takes millions and millions of years to make fossil fuels. That’s not renewable!! I think you were trying to make a joke with that statement, right? You just forgot to include the punchline.
To your second point, wind and solar absolutely, categorically DO generate enough energy to compensate for their construction. A wind turbine can be energy positive in as little as three months, while solar is 1 – 4 years.
Come on dude, you’re making yourself look silly.
Oil and gas are not really renewable within the human time frame but neither solar nor wind are self support. In fact they are largely parasitic if you read 2 previous posts on Cfact.
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2014/09/06/analysis-solar-wind-power-costs-are-huge-compared-to-natural-gas-fired-generation/
Analysis: Solar & Wind Power Costs are Huge Compared to Natural Gas Fired Generation
http://www.cfact.org/2014/08/21/parasitic-power-solar-energys-five-fatal-flaws/
Solar Energy’s 5 Fatal Flaws
http://www.cfact.org/2014/08/21/parasitic-power-dollars-blowing-in-the-wind/
Dollars Blowing in the Wind
Don’t pay too much attention to ZN, he’s full of green slime stuff.
Although oil and gas may not be in short supply now the world will have to go to some nuclear system like MSR is a good starting point:
http://terrestrialenergy.com/imsr-technology/
“wind and solar still cost more energy to create than they provide over their lifetime.” this is false, or poor system design and poor purchasing. I have watched the meter spin backwards on systems that were a 7 year pay off at 1999, 2000 SDG&E rates, and have original ARCO 6V panels still putting out 80% of their rated power with 30+ years of use. That’s demonstrated 23 years of value, money not spent on grid power. In 2000 PV was $11 – $13 installed and $6 -$8 watt wholesale components. Now it’s under $1 watt.
I like cfact, most of the time, this is not one of those times where I buy into their bullshit hook line and sinker.
What Obama and the EPA have done to the poor, white families and towns in Eastern Tennessee is a crime against humanity…and should be exposed! They are the ones who suffer the consequences of the decisiions made in Washingto D.C. by marxist sycophants like Ms. McCarthy…Obamabots without brains!