President Bush announced a goal--but no plan--to stop the growth of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 2025. In an April 16, 2008, address, he said the Clean Air Act as well as the Endangered Species Act are thwarting attempts to curb greenhouse gas reductions by calling the federal government into local planning issues. He also reiterated subsides for nuclear power as a method of curbing climate change and supported building new transmission lines. It’s the “height of irresponsibility,” responded Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), chair of the Environment & Public Works Committee, where climate change legislation is being vetted. The current climate change legislation supported by the committee, S. 2191, basically calls for a shutdown of coal power plants by 2040. Bush said he believes that would hurt the economy and that technology can be developed to allow continued coal power plant production. “We got to do more in the power generation sector,” Bush said. He credited his administration for “doing a lot.” Referring to Bush’s take on a clash between federal law and local action--like that of California’s ongoing efforts to enforce its own climate change legislation through a waiver under the Clean Air Act--James Connaughton, White House Council on Environmental Quality chair, said he sees “a regulatory train wreck coming.” Connaughton added that if the two federal Acts are applied, the feds would be acting as local regulators for schools, hospitals, and shopping malls. The fate, he said, is due to “unelected regulators and judges.” Bush plans to take his ideas to the eight major nations in the “G8.” That includes Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, and the U.S. He said the nations “embrace a new process that brings together the countries responsible for most of the world’s emissions.” Editor’s note: For more quotes from the President, please see our sister publication E=MC2- Energy Meets Climate Challenge. You can find it at energymeetsclimate.com
