The whole editorial is strong but I especially like the last few paragraphs:

Industrial emissions account for a third of this country’s greenhouses gases, and freezing the government’s ability to regulate them makes no sense. There is no guarantee that Congress will produce a broad bill. And even if it does, what is the harm in requiring power plants and other industrial facilities to make near-term improvements in efficiency, or switch to less-polluting fuels?

These senators seem to have bought the hype, spun by industry, that the E.P.A. will run amok. This is not the way we read the intentions of the E.P.A. administrator, Lisa Jackson, who has promised that whatever regulations she proposes will be gradual, cost-effective and affect only the largest facilities.

Nor is it the way we read Congress’s responsibility to the country. That is to address the very real danger of climate change, not deny the government the tools it needs — and legally has — to fight it.

The fact that the thinking behind Murkowski and Rockefeller’s efforts comes directly from polluting industries is an important point, and one that can’t be repeated enough as far as I’m concerned.

Here is the National Association of Manufacturers:

The EPA needs to slow down and let Congress handle this issue.

Here is Senator Rockefeller on the day he introduced the Stationary Sources Regulations Delay Act:

This legislation will issue a two year suspension on EPA regulation of greenhouse gases from stationary sources—giving Congress the time it needs to address an issue as complicated and expansive as our energy future. Congress, not the EPA, must be the ideal decision-maker on such a challenging issue.

The Times piece is worth reading in full.

National Journal:

“I might. I’m looking at it. I think it’s a reasonable thing to do,” the North Dakota Democrat told reporters this morning after speaking at an energy efficiency conference on the Hill.

Senator Rockefeller’s legislation can be viewed here.

Here is the full statement, via Post Carbon:

I do not plan to cosponsor Senator Rockefeller’s legislation at this time. I was encouraged by the response last week from EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson to a letter that I signed along with other Senators that would delay into next year the application of stronger standards regarding increased efficiency or reduced pollution at large power plants and factories. Following up on my previous conversations with her in my office, I take her at her word.

In addition, as I have pointed out in my op-ed of December 3, 2009 entitled Coal Must Embrace the Future, West Virginia needs to have a seat at the negotiating table. I am continuing to have significant discussions about how to ensure the future of coal as a long-term energy resource. I am reluctant to give up on talks that might produce benefits for West Virginia’s coal interests by seeming to turn away from on-going negotiations. I will continue to negotiate with all who are earnestly engaged in the pursuit of a proper balance between saving jobs, protecting the environment and ensuring the health of our communities.

Senator Rockefeller:

Senator John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV today introduced legislation to suspend potential Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulation of greenhouse gases from stationary sources for two years.

“Today, we took important action to safeguard jobs, the coal industry, and the entire economy as we move toward clean coal technology,” said Senator Rockefeller. “This legislation will issue a two year suspension on EPA regulation of greenhouse gases from stationary sources—giving Congress the time it needs to address an issue as complicated and expansive as our energy future. Congress, not the EPA, must be the ideal decision-maker on such a challenging issue.

The legislation is below:

Read the rest of this entry »

Shedding additional light on the letter Senators Begich and Rockefeller engineered last week, from 8 Democrats to EPA administrator Jackson, Senator Begich has issued the following press release:

BegichPressRelease2-19-2010 –

WaPo’s Post Carbon:

Sen. John D. Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) and several other coal-state Democrats sent a bluntly worded letter to Environment Protection Agency administrator Lisa P. Jackson Friday night challenging the agency’s authority to regulate greenhouse gases from power plants and other industrial sources.

The Rockefeller letter–which was also signed by Democratic senators Mark Begich (Alaska), Robert C. Byrd (W.Va.), Sherrod Brown (Ohio), Pat Casey (Pa.), Claire McCaskill (Mo.), Carl Levin (Mich.), and Max Baucus (Mont.)–poses a serious challenge for the Obama administration. While the administration is still pushing for Congress to pass a climate bill this year, it has not ruled out controlling greenhouse gases through regulation.

Here is the letter:

Letter to Lisa Jackson 2-19-10 –

Green Inc:

Six Republicans who sit on the Senate Commerce Committee are calling on its chairman, John D. Rockefeller IV, Democrat of West Virginia, to investigate the trove of recently leaked e-mail messages from climate scientists for evidence of data manipulation.

In a letter dated Tuesday, the Republicans assert that the committee “needs to provide confirmation that American taxpayer dollars are not being misused,” and open a bipartisan investigation into an episode that some are calling Climategate.

The senators signing the letter are Sam Brownback of Kansas, John Ensign of Nevada, Johnny Isakson of Georgia, Jim DeMint of South Carolina, David Vitter of Louisiana, and Roger Wicker of Mississippi.

Here is the letter:

2009-12-08_Climate_Investigation_Letter –

Think Progress:

The West Virginia Chamber of Commerce, which is largely backed by the coal industry, candidly revealed this strategy in a letter released today to Sens. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and Robert Byrd (D-WV). The Chamber of Commerce demanded that the senators use “their clout and seniority” to obstruct the health reform debate until cap and trade legislation is taken off the table and the EPA is barred from regulating carbon dioxide as a pollutant. As Ken Ward of the Charleston Gazette noted, Rockefeller has already rejected a similar proposal of blocking health reform unless the EPA stops reviewing mountaintop removal permits. The coal lobby has also pressured West Virginia state legislators to pass resolutions opposing clean energy reform.

Here is the letter:

Media-Statement_No-Health-Care-Vote-Until-War-On-Coal-Ceases_11202009 –

Thanks for this, Senator:

“They don’t have a deal until they get the coal-state senators, and they are a long way from doing it,” said Sen. John Rockefeller (D-W.Va.). “They’re going to need us to pass a bill.”

Keep poisoning the children, Senator:

“Very young children are more sensitive to mercury than adults. Mercury in the mother’s body passes to the fetus and may accumulate there.

It can also pass to a nursing infant through breast milk. However, the benefits of breast feeding may be greater than the possible adverse effects of mercury in breast milk.

Mercury’s harmful effects that may be passed from the mother to the fetus include brain damage, mental retardation, incoordination, blindness, seizures, and inability to speak. Children poisoned by mercury may develop problems of their nervous and digestive systems, and kidney damage.”

How do you sleep at night, Senator?