Part 2 - The Endangerment Finding
by Michael Williams
June 23, 2009
Earlier today, Texas submitted comments to EPA’s April 17th “endangerment finding” that six greenhouse gases, including C02, cause or contribute to global warming. EPA’s finding was the first official action taken by the federal government to regulate carbon dioxide and could lead to regulations for almost anything that emits carbon dioxide – power plants, refineries, cars, hospitals, schools, restaurants, churches and farms.
In November 2008 we submitted comments to the EPA concerning the economic impact of having EPA bureaucrats micromanage the economy in the name of combating global warming. (I will discuss this in a later post but needless to say, there is significant evidence from people and entities of diverse political persuasions demonstrating the negative impact on GDP, jobs and income of federal GHG regulations.)
The decision to regulate carbon dioxide and five other greenhouse gases was supposedly supported by “compelling scientific evidence.” EPA administrator Lisa Jackson referred to the “very large and comprehensive base of scientific information that has developed over the years through a global consensus process involving numerous scientists from many countries and representing many disciplines." One problem:
There is no such consensus.
- The assumptions about impact of increased greenhouse gas concentrations on future climate are based on computer models. These models are important research tools. But they cannot and should not be used to predict future climate.
- In an “Open Letter to the Secretary General of the United Nations” (December 13, 2007) 100 prominent scientists noted, “ In stark contrasts to the often repeated assertion that the science of climate change is “settled,” significant new peer-reviewed research has cast even more doubt on the hypothesis of dangerous human-caused global warming.”
- In a 255-page 2009 U.S. Senate Minority Report, more than 700 international scientists, including some current and former UN IPCC scientists who have now rejected the UN IPCC, expressed their skepticism of man-made global warming. Note 700 dissenting scientists is more than 13 times the number of UN scientists (52) who authored the much ballyhooed and often referred to UN report.
- In the Global Warming Petition Project over 31,000 American scientists (9,000 with PhDs,) stated “There is no convincing scientific evidence that human release of carbon dioxide, methane, or other greenhouse gases will, in the foreseeable future, cause catastrophic heating of the Earth’s atmosphere and disruption of the Earth’s climate. Moreover, there is substantial scientific evidence that increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide produce many beneficial effects upon the natural plant and animal environments of the Earth.”
- According to many scientists, and a large body of research, such things as the thawing of ice caps, sea-level and global temperature changes, are better explained by the sun’s influence.
Don't forget to with your friends.
How will "cap and trade" affect your household? Use The Tax Foundation's cap and trade calculator.
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