Nearly two years after the Supreme Court's Massachusetts v EPA decision, and after eight years of active deception and ignorance by the Bush Administration, the EPA has sent a finding of endangerment to the White House.
The Environmental Protection Agency sent a proposal to the White House Friday finding that global warming is endangering the public's health and welfare, according to several sources, a move that could have far-reaching implications for the nation's economy and environment.
"This is historic news," said Frank O'Donnell, who heads the public watchdog group Clean Air Watch. "It will set the stage for the first-ever national limits on global warming pollution. And it is likely to help light a fire under Congress to get moving."
UPDATE: Congresswoman Michelle Bachman calls for armed insurrection (listen here) against regulation of carbon dioxide.
BACHMANN: And really now in Washington, I’m a foreign correspondent in enemy lines. And I try to keep everyone back here in Minnesota know exactly the nefarious activities that are taking place in Washington. [...]
I want people in Minnesota armed and dangerous on this issue of the energy tax because we need to fight back. Thomas Jefferson told us, having a revolution every now and then is a good thing, and the people — we the people — are going to have to fight back hard if we’re not going to lose our country. And I think this has the potential of changing the dynamic of freedom forever in the United States.Representative
Ed Markey:
"This finding will officially end the era of denial on global warming," said Rep. Markey. "Instead of allowing political interference in scientific and legal decisions, as was the case in the previous administration, the Obama administration is letting the sun shine in on the dangerous realities of global warming."
But the fossil fuel interests will not release their grip on Washington easily. The Republicans will do everything this year to make sure that greenhouse gas emissions remain unconstrained. More carbon emissions are a 'principle' that the Republicans intend to defend.
House Republicans as a principle will ensure that Congress does not enact any effective Plan to limit the U.S. contribution to climate change. From Roll Call:
House Republicans, stepping up their attack on President Obama’s proposed $3.6 trillion budget, offered six principles Wednesday that they say will guide them as they formulate an alternative to the president’s ambitious plans.
The principles reflect the minority’s long-held views. GOP leaders said they will oppose any tax increases, either on income or energy, and will fight a cap-and-trade program to curb carbon dioxide emissions in order to combat global warming. Instead, the Republicans reiterated their "all of the above" energy proposals that stress new domestic oil and gas production and development of alternative energy sources.
And the positive movement by Obama can't come a day too soon. The one-time denialsts at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have revised their outlook, and it is MUCH, MUCH more dire - median forecast is now 866 ppm of CO2 by 2100 - an average of 9-10 degrees F warmer worldwide.
For the no policy scenario, the researchers concluded that there is now a nine percent chance (about one in 11 odds) that the global average surface temperature would increase by more than 7°C (12.6°F) by the end of this century, compared with only a less than one percent chance (one in 100 odds) that warming would be limited to below 3°C(5.4°F).
Uh-oh.