The U.S. Senate is scheduled to vote Thursday, June 10 on a resolution to overturn the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s ruling that carbon dioxide emissions pose a threat to human health and welfare. At issue is whether EPA should have the right to impose punitive regulations on a huge swath of economic activity in the name of mitigating global warming.
James M. Taylor, senior fellow for environment affairs at The Heartland Institute, offered the following comments on the upcoming vote. You may quote from this statement or contact him directly by email at [email protected] or at 941/776-5690.
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“Whether in Republican or Democratic control, Congress wisely and repeatedly has refused to unilaterally hamstring the American economy to fight speculative global warming claims while the rest of the world remains free to emit as much carbon dioxide as it pleases.
“Global carbon dioxide emissions may continue to rise, but that is certainly not America’s fault. U.S. emissions have been declining for a full decade, while global emissions continue to accelerate rapidly. It therefore makes no sense to punish U.S. consumers and the economy with carbon dioxide restrictions when the problem – if there truly is a global warming problem – lies elsewhere.
“An unelected bureaucracy such as the EPA has no business making an end-run around the expressed will of the American people and their elected representatives by assuming unprecedented power over our economy and our freedoms. This is especially the case given the substantial scientific dissent regarding climate change issues and the unavoidable fact that even a complete elimination of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions will have no impact on global temperatures given the rapid rise in emissions from other countries.”
James M. Taylor
Senior Fellow, Environment Policy
The Heartland Institute
[email protected]
941-776-5690
