The House Subcommittee on Energy and Power met yesterday to discuss the Clean Power Plan, and (unsurprisingly) a lawyer for coal giant Peabody Energy railed against the plan.
Laurence Tribe, who, before being described as Obama's law professor, was best known for representing Gore in the 2000 election fight is now on the dole for Peabody Energy, the biggest private-sector coal company in the world. Tribe's testimony was filled with passionate rhetoric and hyperbole, leading to headlines like, "Obama Law School Prof: EPA Is 'Burning The Constitution'" and "EPA is on a 'constitutionally reckless mission,' Obama's law professor testifies."
Marianne Lavelle at the Daily Climate points out that Tribe has a history of defending various industries, representing cattle producers, Nike and GE. Apparently his argument here is similar to the one he used for GE when he argued that the EPA's authority to force hazardous waste cleanup was unconstitutional. Peabody should be concerned, though, because that was a losing argument.
So for all Tribe's coal-funded smoke, is there fire? Probably not, according to UCS's Mike Jacobs. Mainly because, while Tribe claims the Clean Power Plan means the end of coal, that's not what the rule or an independent analysis (pdf) by the Midcontinent Independent System Operator group suggests. While Peabody's attorney thinks this policy is "designed to eliminate the use of coal," the MISO analysis suggests coal will still be 33-40% of the electricity supply in 2030.
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