EPA Moves to Regulate Greenhouse Gas Emissions as U.N. Climate Conference Begins
Posted by Cloe on December 7, 2009 at 08:03 PM
Today the Environmental Protection Agency finalized its “endangerment finding” on greenhouse gas emissions, formally declaring that carbon and other pollutants are harmful to the public’s health and welfare. The finding lays the groundwork for the future regulation of greenhouse gas emissions from mobile (e.g. transportation) and stationary (e.g. power plants, factories) sources.
From Politico:
"The threat is real,” Jackon said. “Climate change has now become a household issue.”
Monday’s ruling forces the EPA to begin mandating greenhouse gas emissions reductions from industrial polluters like power plants, factories, and auto makers. The EPA, Jackson said, “is now authorized and obligated to make reasonable efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Energy Act.”
The EPA announcement comes two and half years after the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the Bush administration to reconsider whether greenhouse gas emissions are pollutants. The EPA then ruled that the emissions endangered public welfare, but the White House refused to sign off on the decision, leaving it in regulatory limbo until the Obama administration took office last January.
Today was also the first day of the U.N. Climate Conference. Hundreds of delegates from around the world gathered in Copenhagen to hammer out the details of a future climate accord:
From the New York Times:
A much-anticipated global meeting of nearly 200 nations — all seeking what has so far been elusive common ground on the issue of climate change — began here on Monday with an impassioned airing of what leaders here called the political and moral imperatives at hand.
“The clock has ticked down to zero,” said the United Nations’’ climate chief, Yvo de Boer. “After two years of negotiation, the time has come to deliver.”
From now until Dec. 18, delegates will try to hammer out some of the most vexing details involved in the pursuit of a global climate accord.
While the critical action will unfold much later in the process, when higher-level ministers and, ultimately, heads of state arrive, the opening day of the conference was an opportunity for the United Nations to nurture a sense of mission and for delegates to begin staking out their positions…
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Nothing is manifested bootless by Almighty Creator’s repository of attributes. That ‘s why, 71% ‘off-shore’ of our Planet – The Human Earth, pertaining to divine blessings of ‘Oceans’ - having actual impacts on developments of climates, justifiably-designed with erection of gigantic ‘Forestry’ - naturally acts as smartest ‘environmental-shield’ counterbalancing with 29 % of Lords-Land ‘on-shore’.
Let we protect & utilize our natural resources fascinated for us as ‘ruby-&-Coral’, within our Oceans along with Forests, as simple as environmental friendly ‘Part-of-Eco-Equation’.
The disorganized jumbled growth of ‘Jungles’ should be ancient part-of-history when we were ‘Tarzan’ . Now, we are so 'smartly-cultivated' with ultra-smart technologies, that we can also work-out on smartest planning of our Forests to manage with such as well-planned Road-Mapping of cutting-edge infra-structure developments of our Forests to bring all of us out-of-the-wood without unnecessary cutting of pointless wood; so that we our CTL (Coal–To-Liquid) Plants to turn our vast Coal Reserves into barrels of Oil , our Coal Power Generation Plants and allied Industries having environmental-reservations becomes more environmental-responsive by absorption of excessive greenhouse gases like CO2, within these industrial-Sights that we will especially select inside these Forestry on our planet .
However, such an economical ‘GREEN –GROWTH’ Planning also demands mitigation initiative, enabling us to take our honest responsibility campaigning to mobilize all to come forward to foster environmental friendly Plantation of ‘sea-zonal’ type of Trees which can be cultivated along Sea Side-by-Side of our Industrial Port cities. The above mentioned Cultivated Road-mapping will ever be count as Sustainable International Development leading to creation of a huge number of new job opportunities, too.
Upcoming Summit on Environment & Climate, expected a consensus & agreement to curb "Terror' of global warming will be a first step as Global-Environmental Control-Management with the short-term & long-term Solution of 'Reduction-in-Emissions of Carbon' so that particularly Green-Growth job-oriented development cultivation of 'Trees - As -Tool – For Best of The Best Absorption of Carbon' as 'A Noble - Cause' to the 'Global-Society' living on our Human Earth Planets' respective country such that should have to be with a consensus on an extended international target for : 'Cultivation of One Tree Each Per Person' of respective nation besides all mitigation & other Green-Growth measures, as an strategy leading to finally reach on other Global solutions of highly important World-Problems such as long-term ENERGY solutions under Global-'Operational'-Managemen¬t of collective participation of All member countries of United Nation Organization with 'democratic re-structuring' of UNO itself with an over all mutual understanding.
I'm surprised that new construction is not in the EPA's report as well--as this is a huge emissions contributor. It's also being discussed in Congress (see link above). Having energy-efficient buildings and homes will be a major part of reducing ghg emissions, and is a place where we, as citizens, can step in an make a change.
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