On Monday, August 3, 2015, President Barack Obama and the Environmental Protection Agency released final rules designed to curtail coal-based power plant emissions. Called the Clean Power Plan, the goal is to reduced carbon emissions contributing to man-made climate change. The impact of this plan will surprise a lot of Americans.
The following video is only a little over 2 minutes and worth watching:
Reaction has been about what you might expect. The Republican candidates for president and their Republican colleagues in the House and Senate have falsely attacked the plan for the usual false reasons. The Democratic candidates and in Congress largely agree that the steps proposed are necessary to deal with the unequivocal science demonstrating humans are warming the climate system.
Media reporting of the Clean Power Act shows its critical importance. Time magazine says that the President is taking the lead on this “superwicked problem.” CNN says the President “unveils major climate change proposal.” To the New York Times this is a “crucial step on climate change.” Other media outlets also note the unprecedented action by the White House and EPA.
Of course, there are also the denial lobbyists saturating the blogosphere with anti-Clean Power Act rhetoric. All provide opinions based on a single negative “report” produced by, you guessed it, one of the denial lobbyist organizations in their network. That’s a common tactic of lobbyists – create a biased report and then get all your friends to cite your biased report as “unbiased.”
Meanwhile, the response from the scientific community has generally been positive, as might be expected given that nearly every climate scientist agrees that 100+ years of published science unequivocally demonstrates a need to address man’s contribution to climate change. There are some, like outspoken climate scientist James Hansen, who feel the Plan is merely a drop in the bucket and won’t in itself create significant progress in dealing with our changing climate.
Hansen is probably right.
So let’s assume that the Clean Power Plan is insufficient to deal with climate change….
[Read the rest on The Dake Page]
The above is a partial cross-post of a full article on The Dake Page. Please click on the link above to read further. Thanks.
David J. Kent has been a scientist for over thirty years, is an avid science traveler, and an independent Abraham Lincoln historian. He is the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and the e-book Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time. He is currently writing a book on Thomas Edison.
Follow me by subscribing by email on the home page. And feel free to “Like” my Facebook author’s page and connect on LinkedIn. Share with your friends using the buttons below.
Ironic…. I had just recently read an assessment regarding the designation of coal ash as an “industrial byproduct” in Wisconsin (as opposed to a “hazardous waste”). This has allowed for bottom ash use as unlined construction base material, and fly ash use in concrete mix, largely eliminating waste storage issues (costs) for coal-fired power-plants.
Unsurprisingly, despite being ranked 28th for coal-ash production, the EPA has documented more coal-ash contaminated sites in WI than in any other state. And now toxic products that correlate to those in the ash are being found in the state’s groundwater supply — although the EPA has been reluctant to rule the ash as “causal.”
Moving away from carbon-based energy has so many benefits that it’s difficult to comprehend why anyone would be opposed. And as populations increase, simply appealing to increased efficiency isn’t going to provide a long-term solution.
There’s only one reason for opposing – profits of the fossil fuel companies and the influence that buys them. Wisconsin is a good example as Gov. Walker doesn’t try to hide that he’s acting at the direction of the Koch brothers.