If You Won't, They Will
Posted December 11, 2009 in Curbing Pollution, Solving Global Warming
Looks like they’re feeling a little warm on Capitol Hill.
The EPA’s announcement earlier this week that global warming pollution is a serious danger to human health seems to have lit a fire under the feet of Congress.
On Wednesday, Sen. Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas said that she was concerned about the EPA’s ruling. And she wasn’t the only one in the Senate cringing at the EPA announcement – Sen. Mark Pryor, a moderate Democrat who has been reluctant to support a climate and clean energy bill, said that he may rethink his negative view of cap-and-trade.
So why the sudden change of heart?
When Lisa Jackson released the EPA’s endangerment finding on Tuesday, the agency effectively gave itself the green light to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. And for Congress, that sounds menacingly like the EPA trying to step on their legislative toes. While senators and congressmen on both sides have been arguing for months about whether and how to regulate global warming pollution, there’s one thing they agree on: they can do it better, smarter, and more efficiently than the EPA.
Energy companies are turning up the heat on Congress, as well. To private industry, EPA regulations would mean a straight limit on their pollution – no safeguards or incentives to invest in clean energy technologies. But Congress, on the other hand, could craft a more comprehensive climate package that would protect businesses, consumers, and the environment, alike.
That’s why the Chairman and CEO of Entergy Corporation, Wayne Leonard, is urging Congress to approve a cap-and-trade climate plan before the EPA takes the reigns on carbon regulation. “If Congress does not act, EPA will…. In fact, they’ve already fired the first shot,” Leonard said on Wednesday.
We know that global warming is happening, and the EPA is getting ready to regulate. The real question now is whether this will be enough of a kick in the pants for Congress to act.
There’s no more time for twiddling thumbs. What we need now is for Congress to seize the opportunity and drive our economy forward towards clean energy and job creation.
