••can ye pass the acid test?••

ye who enter here be afraid, but do what ye must -- to defeat your fear ye must defy it.

& defeat it ye must, for only then can we begin to realize liberty & justice for all.

time bomb tick tock? nervous tic talk? war on war?

or just a blog crying in the wilderness, trying to make sense of it all, terror-fried by hate radio and FOX, the number of whose name is 666??? (coincidence?)

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

from repower america


Today will be a showdown on science and climate in the Senate. Votes are planned on three amendments that would stop the EPA from limiting the pollution that causes climate change. These amendments are being considered as part of an unrelated small business bill.

These efforts to block limits on global warming pollution — which scientific evidence tells us causes climate change, harms our health and damages the environment — ignore science and the sworn duty of elected officials to act in the best interest of the people. Climate science deniers are becoming more desperate and more aggressive in their efforts to roll back the Clean Air Act — the only law that offers Americans protection from such pollution. Make no mistake, climate deniers are mounting an all-out assault on reason, science, health, the environment and basic common sense.

The three amendments being offered in the Senate would do the following:

•Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s amendment would permanently remove the authority under the Clean Air Act to limit the pollution that causes climate change.

•Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus’ amendment would prevent EPA from setting limits on smaller polluters and on emissions from the agricultural industry – such as reducing methane emissions from industrial animal farms.

•Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller’s amendment would delay EPA’s plans to limit pollution from large facilities for two years.

Mischief is afoot in the House too. On March 15, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce voted to pass Representative Upton’s bill, which would permanently prevent limits on greenhouse gas pollution. Next week, the full House is scheduled to vote on the measure.

So, Congress is considering either permanently or temporarily preventing limits on greenhouse gas pollution, the effects of which science tell us are harmful to human health (PDF) by increasing respiratory problems, heat-related deaths, and risks to humans from intensifying storms. Not to mention that this pollution contributes to (PDF) sea level rise, reduced biodiversity and negative impacts on the infrastructure we depend on daily.

There is no logic to these actions to deny climate change science or block the actions scientists tell us must be taken. Some in Congress believe that Congress, not the EPA, should be the one setting limits on pollution. However, last year the Senate had a chance, but failed to pass comprehensive climate legislation that would have reduced global warming pollution, created jobs and promoted a 21st-century clean energy economy.

So, let me get this straight — Congress had an opportunity to pass climate legislation but failed to act, and now some in Congress claim the EPA can’t limit pollution until Congress has a chance to act. Am I the only one feeling dizzy (and angry) watching Congress try to prevent progress by stalling and chasing its tail?

Over a comprehensive two-year process, EPA relied on information from some of the most well-respected scientific institutions in the world – ultimately resulting in the determination that the greenhouse gas pollution that causes climate change harms our health and the environment. We can’t substitute science with politics. Our leaders should stop playing games with our health and our planet’s future. Instead, they should acknowledge the reality of the climate crisis we face, and support limits on global warming pollution so we can move toward a clean energy economy.

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