Google Joins Apple in Condemning the Repeal of the Clean Power Plan (theverge.com)
An anonymous reader shares a report: Google filed a public comment today criticizing the Environmental Protection Agency's proposal to roll back the Clean Power Plan, an Obama-era policy that aims to cut power plant pollution. With its comment, Google joins Apple in arguing that keeping the policy is a good deal for the US. Google's comment, which it shared with The Verge, lays out what it called a strong economic case for the Clean Power Plan.It says that the plan would encourage utilities and companies like Google to keep investing in renewable energy -- which Google says is getting cheaper, is desired by both consumers and investors, and is a good source of jobs.
If it is really that important it should be passed as a law. This is the issue with executive orders and regulations. Then next guy can just undo it. Perhaps previous administrations should have focused more on compromised laws and less on orders and regulations.
The repeal of this measure has nothing to do with the environment, economy or jobs. Slowing or stopping the cost reductions in clean energy is what this is about. Robert E. Murray, the chief executive of Murray Energy, the owner of the largest number of coal fired plants in the country, is a long time personal friend of Trump. The fact that clean energy has been getting cheaper every year is killing his company whose margins are getting cut every year. This has nothing to do with anything other than improving Trump's friends bottom line; everything else is irrelevant.
"Be particularly skeptical when presented with evidence confirming what you already believe." -
Silicon Valley billionaires don't care about middle class workers in the energy industries or poor people who can't afford to pay more on their utility bills. Let them eat cake.
If it is really that important it should be passed as a law. This is the issue with executive orders and regulations. Then next guy can just undo it. Perhaps previous administrations should have focused more on compromised laws and less on orders and regulations.
Executive Orders are abused more by each successive President. They're completely out of hand in the Obama/Trump era. I really think there needs to be some soul-searching and perhaps an amendment to the constitution. They're not supposed to be used as work-arounds when the President can't get a law passed that he wants. They are supposed to be for use executively not legislatively. Both Obama and Trump have abused executive orders and used them for things it was not designed to do.
We need to rein in on abuses, close down loopholes, and put checks and balances on executive orders.
"That's the way to do it" - Punch
They say the plan shouldn't be rolled back because then companies would not be encouraged to use renewables.
But are Apple and Google going to cease using renewable power sources? No. Nor will lots of other companies.
They also claim it's getting cheaper - great! Then obviously that alone would be a driving factor toward companies seeking renewable energy.
So what does this rollback really hurt?
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
You are confusing Trump and Obama. Obama abused E.O.s because he couldn't get them passed by Congress. Trump is abusing them because he has the attention span of gnat and needs instant gratification so he can bellow at his base about all the wonderful things he's doing to America.
That's not a problem with a clean power plan. That's just life. If you invest in anything, you'd better be prepared to have the floor fall out under it, because you can't go back and change your forecast and not invest.
Unless you've been under a rock, or think that a vast majority of scientists are somehow plotting together to make up some huge carbon-footprint global-warming conspiracy theory, it really doesn't work both ways. Economic problems will be the least of our concerns if we render this pale blue dot largely uninhabitable.
There are two types of people in the world; those who believe there are two types of people, and those who don't.