Placing itself squarely on the side of increased carbon pollution, higher global temperatures, and even more comprehensive environmental, political, and economic disaster, House Republicans are unveiling a proposal to boost to greenhouse gas production:
Acting on a vow to fight the Obama administration on climate issues, Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, unveiled draft legislation Wednesday to try to strip the Environmental Protection Agency of its power to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act.
Sen. James M. Inhofe (Okla.), ranking Republican on the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, and Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.), chairman of the subcommittee on energy and power, joined Upton in issuing what they called the Energy Tax Prevention Act.
The Obama administration is vowing to veto the Republican measure, but while preserving EPA authority to regulate greenhouse gases may avoid taking a step backward, what we really need is to move forward on the development of clean, affordable, and reliable sources of energy.
Conservatives can claim climate science is a hoax until they go blue in the face, but that won't change the immutable fact that dumping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere traps solar energy. To believe otherwise is to deny that the sun rises in the morning and sets in the evening. That basic fact isn't up for debate. The only question is whether we're going to do anything about it.