EPA Fights Economic Recovery
SEARCH BLOG: EPA
While the Obama administration is desperately trying to salvage the economy by spending us into oblivion, the EPA is preparing to devour anything that springs to life as a result of that spending.
We've all heard about the big EPA efforts. Toward the bottom of this post is an example of how the EPA is forcing individuals to choose between what they want to buy and buying from U.S. companies. But first, topping the list, of course, is the potential economy-killing "Cap and Trade" proposal being pushed by President Obama and to be enforced by the EPA. One commentary on this from the Mackinac Center for Public Policy...
If President Barack Obama can't get his controversial "cap-and-trade" energy legislation passed, some experts feel he'll turn to the Environmental Protection Agency to get the same results.
The concern over the growing power of the EPA was the focus of a forum last week during the "Defending the American Dream" summit in Clarkston.
Keynote speaker Sarah Palin said that EPA stood for "Economic Punishment Agency."
Others talked about the EPA's growing power since it ruled carbon dioxide was a pollutant last year. The EPA can control through the Clean Air Act how much carbon dioxide is emitted.
Cap-and-trade legislation refers to the government controlling emissions that are tied to energy production. Companies would be allowed a certain level of emissions and then have to purchase or trade for the ability to exceed their limit. [Read more].Once the EPA sets its mind on a course, you can be certain it will devour all in that path:
Despite the many problems cited with turning cereal grains into ethanol (price spikes, shortages, etc.) and a new study saying ethanol damages engines, the EPA is going ahead with plans to raise the amount of ethanol mandated in fuel mixes:
The Environmental Protection Agency is expected to issue a rule in the next few weeks that would permit oil companies to increase the percentage of ethanol in automotive fuel to 15 percent, up from the current level of 10 percent, so they can meet E.P.A. quotas for renewable fuels.
Like a true bureaucracy, the quota is much more important than the fact that increasing ethanol percentages could cause more pollution and damage car engines according to a new study:
But now the industry says it has conducted tests that confirm the higher-ethanol blend will cause problems in many cars.
Half of the engines tested so far have had some problems, said C. Coleman Jones, the biofuel implementation manager at General Motors, who spoke on behalf of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers.
More ethanol will confuse exhaust control systems and make engines run too hot, destroying catalytic converters, automakers say. It can also damage engine cylinders, they say.
For some car owners, “you will be walking, eventually,” Mr. Jones said. The industry is urging the E.P.A. to delay any changes to the fuel mix until after 2011, when more complete testing will be done.
The EPA’s answer?
An E.P.A. spokeswoman declined to discuss the E.P.A.’s specific plans beyond its November letter, in which the agency said it planned to make a decision by midyear. The agency said at that time that it was leaning toward allowing the change.
Bureaucratic inertia has set the ball in motion and facts simply don’t matter. [Read more]
But let's get personal here. When you make purchase decisions, you may be unwittingly forced to chose against U.S. manufacturers and for imported goods simply because foreign manufacturers are free to use products in production that are forbidden to U.S. manufacturers.
Case in point: the purchase of new cabinets for the home we are building....
As explained to me by a company that sells a large variety of cabinets and bookcases from many different manufacturers, if we want what we want, we have to buy Canadian. It seems that Canada doesn't have the same restrictions as the U.S. when it comes to VOCs. [If someone has information to the contrary, I welcome a comment here]. As a result, Canadian cabinets sold in the U.S. are not compliant with the production regulations forced on U.S. manufacturers.
So, we get what we want, the EPA gets what it wants, and the U.S. manufacturers can apply for TARP funds.
From 
