21Mar

EPA Plan Would Hurt Mississippi: Martin

Via The Clarion-Ledger: Mississippi is finally showing signs of a recovery from the devastating impact of the “great recession.” Incomes and investment are beginning to grow again. The recovery is still fragile, however. The state is a long way from recovering all of the jobs it lost, and job growth in 2014 was the ninth […]
20Mar

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s Letter to Nation’s Governors

Dear Governors: I write concerning the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed “Clean Power Plan”, or CPP, a new Obama Administration regulation that would require states to dramatically restructure their electricity systems based on the EPA’s view of how electricity should be produced and used in each state. This new proposal calls for a 30% reduction […]
19Mar

Cost of Cleaner Power Could Take Toll on Low-income Families

Via The Hill: There continues to be contentious debate in Washington on the best approach to address the issue of climate change.  Environmental groups have lined up against business interests in what has become a heated battle over potential legislation. But one voice that may not be heard as clearly in this ongoing debate is […]
18Mar

In Ky., Debate Over Coal’s Future ‘Really is About Manufacturing’

Via E&E Publishing: Joel Kirkland GEORGETOWN, Ky. — It’s not hard to see how energy fits into Kevin Butt’s business of assembling 2,000 cars a day. “When we make cars, we argue about pennies sometimes,” he said. “Make it better, but don’t spend the money.” Butt is the regional environmental director at Toyota Motor Corp.’s […]
17Mar

EPA is on a ‘Constitutionally Reckless Mission,’ Obama’s Law Professor Testifies

Via The Hill:  The law professor, who taught President Obama says the Environmental Protection Agency lacks the statutory and constitutional authority to force states to implement plans to cut carbon emissions at existing power plants. “In my considered view, EPA is off on a constitutionally reckless mission,” Laurence Tribe, a professor at Harvard Law School, […]
16Mar

It’s Not Time Yet to Scuttle Coal-fired Power

Via the Great Falls Tribune: Coal was cheap and plentiful in the United States in the 20th century, becoming a veritable King Coal for generating electricity. In the 21st century, natural gas and nuclear power (absent a meltdown) are cleaner options, and so are solar and wind, although they are erratic sources of power and […]
14Mar

Charles Steele Jr.: Let’s Tell the EPA: First, Do No Harm

Via The Kokomo Tribune: You’ve probably heard the familiar oath: “First, do no harm.” It’s the pledge doctors are obliged to follow when treating an illness or injury. Our government in Washington should heed the same advice: Don’t treat one problem by creating another, more serious one. That caution comes to mind as I’ve considered […]
13Mar

Clean Power Plan Bills Generate Debate Across the Southeast, Midwest

Via E&E Publishing: Jeffrey Tomich and Kristi E. Swartz As U.S. EPA continues to work on a final version of the Clean Power Plan for release later this summer, conservative lawmakers in more than a dozen states are trying to ensure they get the final say on how their state responds to it, citing concerns […]
13Mar

States Fling Criticism at EPA’s Power Plant Rules

Via The Washington Examiner: BY JOHN SICILIANO  States heaped criticism on the Obama administration’s proposed climate rules Wednesday, saying its power plant regulations would harm their economies and damage electricity reliability. Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, parsed therules as tearing at the fabric of “federalism” and harming state […]
13Mar

Indiana Could Refuse to Comply with EPA Emissions Rule

Via The Indianapolis Star: WASHINGTON – Indiana may refuse to comply with a pending federal rule to curb greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, the head of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management said Wednesday. IDEM Commissioner Thomas Easterly testified at a Senate hearing about the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed rule, which would require Indiana to […]