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Congress Votes to Scrap Obama's Clean Power Plan (sciencemag.org)
sciencehabit writes with news that the House voted 242-180 to repeal the EPA's Clean Power Plan, and 235-188 to block EPA rules governing emissions from new power plants. Science reports: "Congress has voted, largely along party lines, to block a centerpiece of President Barack Obama's climate change agenda. The votes are largely symbolic, however, because Obama plans to veto the bills. Still, Congressional Republicans, and a few Democrats, say they want to send a message to global leaders who are meeting this week to negotiate a new climate agreement that the majority of U.S. lawmakers may not agree with any deal."
If they are symbolic bills, then all we'll get here is bullshit discussion about AGW or worse, politics. Must be a slow news day (well, other than the bigger-than-average daily shooting in San Bernardino)
Make sure everyone's vote counts: Verified Voting
Along with the USA, the leaders of China, Russia, India, Japan, Europeans, Africans, South Americans, and southeast Asians are idiots who haven't read the facts about the "climate change hoax" documented in great detail in right-wing web sites.
Obama wants to veto his own bill?
"The votes are largely symbolic..." of what? How pigheaded and stupid people can be when they put their "minds" to it?
Can somebody please explain how it can be that the congress votes for "no change" and Obama can veto and make a change in the laws? A veto generally cancels changes, meaning we would be stuck with status quo, but not this time.
Once again we see that Congress is the opposite of Progress...
Hmm... 2/3rds majority is necessary to override a veto. For a full house, that's 290 votes 'needed' to override a veto. It's actually a bit less if only the same reps vote on the override - 281 for the first vote if the same representatives vote again(a few abstainers are usual).
Except for partisian solidarity, another 39 votes doesn't seem that much
I don't read AC A human right
And the President will get a plan in Paris that takes the deniers and Congress out of it. The Chinese, India, and Africa are all moving away from coal and oil too. So, that talking point is not accurate anymore.
The business coalition argues that a huge, unprecedented and illegal expansion of EPA authority over the country’s entire electrical power system will cause “irreparable harm” unless complicated planning process ordained by the rule is halted while that legal battle over the entire program is fought, a process likely to last through most of 2016, if not longer.
...to force the States and other bodies to make “immediate” and irreversible decisions to plan compliance with EPA’s rule before courts have ruled whether the plan is legal or not.
They're literally arguing that they will have to make 'irreversible' decisions to do some PLANNING about how they'll comply with the earlier's law's deadline of September 2016 to submit their plan or ask for an extension.
I suppose that considering planning to be irreversible and harmful would explain a lot of corporate behavior in the US, though.
It will be different thanks to the honor of another institution, then. This matter is not a toy anymore, it is about severe consequences.
Greetings from Europe, that seems to feel moment so much better.
Servant of karma
lol, good point.
I found it interesting that 7 or 8 of em seemed to think about it. The 2nd one seems much more reasonable of the 2, regs affecting new construction don't do much damage. The 1st is a little annoying here as they expect (one of?) the greenest state to cut the same 32% of emissions. Tough to do with only 1 coal plant left. There is 1 coal plant, 13 natural gas, 20 wind farms, and 24 dams shave off 32% of emissions from what?
Looked up NY to compare: 4 coal, 16 gas, 8 PETROLUEM, 10 dams and 10 wind farms and a couple of the dams are very small. All the dams and wind farms don't add up to the one big dam here. Sounds much easier to cut some emissions there.
They simply burn gasoline there for energy?!?
China and the US are the only countries that matter anymore, and they're gonna do what they want, kicking sand in the face of the 97 pound weaklings of the world.
(-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
Translation: The USA is using its 'world police' status to fuck-over the political agenda of other countries.
Nothing new there, the new twist is, this time includes US allies. In the aftermath of WW2, the USA assumed the office of world police (and assistant finance controller), which on one hand prevented another world war. OTOH, it allowed the USA to use its guns for profit, thus building a US hegemony. The cost of supporting a US hegemony is now greater than the benefit received by its allies.
It's time for US allies to act, not make plans, without the participation of the USA, and to punish the USA for ignoring (their share of) global problems. As always, the best way to punish someone, is via the hip pocket. All those trade agreements and kick-backs benefiting the USA can be replaced by several international military squads dealing with regional conflict.
In this case, the administration has used this power in ways congress doesn't like so it attempted to pass a law disallowing the changes in regulation.
The administration is using its power in ways specifically granted to it by congress. If they didn't like it then they shouldn't have delegated the authority in the first place. That's how our government has worked since the Constitution was ratified.
This is neither a constitutional or ordinary process.
Like hell it isn't. You yourself explain perfectly accurately how the system works. And it has (mostly) worked for 240 years. When congress wants to get specific in how it delegates power to the executive branch then they have that right, subject to the restrictions under the Constitution. If they cannot get enough votes to change their mind then that is how it is supposed to work.
I fear that the Republicans in office seem to have a few things in common with Radical Islam (ISIL, Taliban, Al Queda, et. al.) They want to bring about the Apocalypse, turn back time to the 19th century or earlier, and/or burn all the books and kill all the scientists. The radicalization of the Republican party has caused me to change my voting habits.
Here's what they don't like.
Oil flows through the first half of Keystone pipeline, where it is then loaded on trains, mostly owned by Burlington Northern, aka Warren Buffet. That's the same Warren Buffett who financed Obama' s campaigns. The plan was to finish the pipeline, which would be more efficient than transferring it to Buffet's trains.
Obama asked the EPA to look into the plan and the EPA said the net effect of finishing the pipeline would probably be slightly positive for the environment overall. Obama's benefactor, Warren Buffet, had just spent $35 billion buying Burlington Northern, which carries the oil, and he really didn't want to lose that investment. So Obama asked the State Department to issue a report saying the pipeline shouldn't be finished. Unfortunately for him, the State Department said the finishing the pipeline wouldn't be a problem.
Of course that doesn't help Warren Buffet, who owns the railroad amd perhaps the White House, so Obama told EPA and State to start over, and this time say no. They didn't really want to do that, so eventually Obama just declared thay the oil had to stay on Buffet's railroad, just because he says so.
Of course that increases the price of gas slightly for everyone, it's slightly worse for the environment, but the extra penny per gallon you pay for the gas goes to Warren Buffet, who in turn kicks some of it to democrat campaigns.
That's Obama's environmental policy. How could anyone oppose that?
Of course there are dozens of other examples. A favorite method is to have the government give a few hundred million of taxpayer money to some donor who say they plan to start a green business, such as solar-electric. The donors take salaries of $10 million / year , the "green company" donates some of the taxpayer money to democrats, and after a few years the money is gone. At that point the company declares bankruptcy. The donors get paid, the politicians get paid, and not a single solar panel is made. You don't see a problem here? Obama spent hundreds of millions of your dollars amd mine running that same scheme repeatedly.
It is called Obama's Clean Power Plan, but it's real name is Obama bad government control plan. You think it is about clean air? No, it is all about bureaucratic power and lobby money.
not really news at all.
Nicely constructed noise with no source. I wish I could mod you -1 Amusing. I'll go with Troll instead.
None of this crap holds up under scrutiny. Study it out.
Just like they always do. Throw the bums out!
You want a source for the fact that Warren Buffet bought Burlington Northern for $35 billion? Okay:
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=buffet+bu...
For the fact that Buffet is a huge Obama donor?
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=buffet+ob...
For the fact that Buffet's trains carry the bulk of the oil from where the pipeline ends?
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=keystone+...
For some of Obama's donors getting millions and millions of taxpayer money and never producing a single solar panel?
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=solyndra
It's not that hard.
What does Congress do? Pass laws.
What does the Executive do? Enforce laws passed by Congress.
What is the EPA? A part of the Executive Branch.
What does the EPA do? Enforce laws passed by Congress. This is preschool-level civics, here.
EPA neither creates nor changes laws. Did the ice pick come with an ice pack to dull the pain?
... needs another reminder of how dysfunctional this Congress is.
All in favor of air strikes, raise your hand.
Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
India has 589 coal plants and is building or has plans to build 446 more.
See:
http://www.thegwpf.org/new-report-the-truth-about-china/
Why is this marked troll? It's literally exactly the truth.