That's what comes out every time he opens his mouth.
"Obama abandons tougher ozone standard; Rule had been target of major lobbying effort" September 03, 2011|By John M. Broder, New York Times
WASHINGTON - The Obama administration is abandoning its plan to immediately tighten air quality rules nationwide to reduce emissions of smog-causing chemicals after an intense lobbying campaign by industry, which said the new rule would cost billions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of jobs, officials said yesterday.
Related: Obama's EPA
EPA Running Off at the Mouth
More hot air.
The White House announcement that it was overruling the Environmental Protection Agency’s plan to adopt a stricter standard for ground-level ozone came just hours after another dismal jobs reports and in the midst of an intensifying political debate over the impact of federal regulations on job creation. President Obama is planning a major address next week on new measures to stimulate employment, while Republicans in Congress and on the presidential campaign trail have harshly criticized the administration’s environmental and health regulations, which they claim are forcing layoffs and the export of jobs.
The EPA, following the recommendation of its scientific advisers, had proposed lowering the so-called ozone standard from that set by the Bush administration to a new stricter standard that would have thrown hundreds of American counties out of compliance with the Clean Air Act. It would have required a major effort by state and local officials, as well as new emissions controls by industries and across the country.
The administration will follow a more lenient Bush administration standard set in 2008 until a scheduled reconsideration of acceptable pollution limits in 2013. Environmental advocates vowed yesterday to challenge that standard in court, saying it is too weak to adequately protect public health.
It REALLY IS George W. Bush's third term.
And the DELAY is OBVIOUSLY so Obama can SCOOP UP all those CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS from INDUSTRY -- otherwise, we will have a Republican president again (like it really matters anymore).
In a statement, the president reiterated his commitment to environmental concerns, but said, “At the same time, I have continued to underscore the importance of reducing regulatory burdens and regulatory uncertainty, particularly as our economy continues to recover. With that in mind, and after careful consideration, I have requested that Administrator Jackson withdraw the draft Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards at this time.’’
In a letter to Lisa P. Jackson, the EPA administrator, the head of the White House office of regulatory affairs, Cass Sunstein, said that the president was rejecting her proposal to tighten the standard.
“He has made it clear he does not support finalizing the rule at this time,’’ Sunstein said.
Sunstein said that changing the rule now would create uncertainty for business and local government. He also said there was no compelling reason to rewrite the ozone standard in advance of the scheduled reconsideration in 2013, a key demand of business interests.
Jackson said in a statement, “This administration has put in place some of the most important standards and safeguards for clean air in U.S. history: the most significant reduction of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide air pollution across state borders; a long-overdue proposal to finally cut mercury pollution from power plants; and the first-ever carbon pollution standards for cars and trucks.’’
You smell something, readers?
She said her agency would revisit the ozone standard, in compliance with the Clean Air Act.
Sunstein told Jackson that since the rule is due for reconsideration in 2013, an earlier review would promote confusion and uncertainty.
“In this light,’’ he wrote, “issuing a final rule in late 2011 would be problematic in view of the fact that a new assessment, and potentially new standards, will be developed in the relatively near future.’’
And it would HURT HIS REELECTION CHANCES if they did it now!
Environmental advocates expressed dismay at the decision.
League of Conservation Voters president Gene Karpinski issued the following statement:
“The Obama administration is caving to big polluters at the expense of protecting the air we breathe. This is a huge win for corporate polluters and huge loss for public health.’’
All you environmental guys got was three sentences from the newspaper?
So HOW DOES it feel to be TAKEN FOR GRANTED?
--more--"
Related:
Obama Drops Nuke on Liberal Base
Obama Fails to Learn From Gulf Gusher
Think he will overrule that decision?
Also see: Fate of oilsands in Obama's hands as protest ends
Wow, two weeks of protests and NOT ONE WORD about them in the Globe!
65 arrested at oil pipeline protest
"Obama urged to reject pipeline route"September 01, 2011|Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman urged President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton yesterday to deny a federal permit for a pipeline that would carry Canadian oil using an aquifer that supplies drinking and irrigation water to parts of several states.
Heineman said he supports pipeline projects but opposes TransCanada’s Keystone XL route that would cross the vast Ogallala aquifer.
In the letter, the Republican governor said he was concerned about the threat to the crucial water source for Nebraska’s farmers and ranchers. The aquifer supplies drinking water to 2 million people in Nebraska and seven other states.
“This resource is the lifeblood of Nebraska’s agricultural economy,’’ Heineman said. “Cash receipts from farm markets contribute over $17 billion to Nebraska’s economy annually. I am concerned that the proposed pipeline will have potentially detrimental effects on this valuable natural resource and Nebraska’s economy.’’
Hey, WHO CARES ABOUT WATER for FOOD and DRINK when we have a WAR MACHINE'S THIRST to SLAKE!
The pipeline would carry oil from Canada across Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, and Oklahoma on its way to refineries on Texas’ Gulf Coast.
Calgary-based TransCanada submitted its Keystone XL project in late 2008 to the State Department, which has authority over the pipeline because it crosses an international boundary.
Heineman released the letter in the midst of ongoing pipeline protests in Washington. Scores of environmental protesters have been arrested after ignoring orders to move away from the White House.
But he's your guy, right?
Environmental groups fear the pipeline could foul underground and surface water supplies, increase air pollution around refineries, and harm wildlife. They also say the process for extracting the oil from tar and oil sands of Alberta would vastly increase carbon emissions, considered a leading cause of climate change.
That ONLY MATTERS when the AGENDA is being PUSHED!
Supporters say the environmental concerns are overblown, and argue that the pipeline will create jobs.
Yeah, just trust industry and government. I mean, they have done such a great job.
--more--"
Oh, I'm sorry, I stand corrected. You have to drill for it, but it was there.
"The largest environmental civil disobedience in decades concluded at the White House this morning....
And the Globe only gave it one buried brief and a phrase in a sentence?
Must not be an AGENDA-PUSHING and APPROVED protest then. Maybe if the protesters said they were gay they would have gotten more coverage.
--MORE--"
