Picking our way through Waxman-Markey

Posted by Clyde Middleton on Jun 24 2009 Filed under Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

This post will be updated as my constitution allows. Here’s the full text.

First note. Below is the rationale for requiring flex fuels in cars. Let’s set aside the economic disaster that was the corn market a few years ago because of their brilliant idea for bio-fuels. As you read the section below, ask yourself this: Why not just drill domestically for oil? These people are dangerously stupid.

SEC. 127. OPEN FUEL STANDARD.

(a) Findings- The Congress finds that–

(1) the status of oil as a strategic commodity, which derives from its domination of the transportation sector, presents a clear and present danger to the United States;

(2) in a prior era, when salt was a strategic commodity, salt mines conferred national power and wars were fought over the control of such mines;

(3) technology, in the form of electricity and refrigeration, decisively ended salt’s monopoly of meat preservation and greatly reduced its strategic importance;

(4) fuel competition and consumer choice would similarly serve to end oil’s monopoly in the transportation sector and strip oil of its strategic status;

(5) the current closed fuel market has allowed a cartel of petroleum exporting countries to inflate fuel prices, effectively imposing a harmful tax on the economy of the United States;

(6) much of the inflated petroleum revenues the oil cartel earns at the expense of the people of the United States are used for purposes antithetical to the interests of the United States and its allies;

(7) alcohol fuels, including ethanol and methanol, could potentially provide significant supplies of additional fuels that could be produced in the United States and in many other countries in the Western Hemisphere that are friendly to the United States;

(8) alcohol fuels can only play a major role in securing the energy independence of the United States if a substantial portion of vehicles in the United States are capable of operating on such fuels;

(9) it is not in the best interest of United States consumers or the United States Government to be constrained to depend solely upon petroleum resources for vehicle fuels if alcohol fuels are potentially available;

(10) existing technology, in the form of flexible fuel vehicles, allows internal combustion engine cars and trucks to be produced at little or no additional cost, which are capable of operating on conventional gasoline, alcohol fuels, or any combination of such fuels, as availability or cost advantage dictates, providing a platform on which fuels can compete;

(11) the necessary distribution system for such alcohol fuels will not be developed in the United States until a substantial fraction of the vehicles in the United States are capable of operating on such fuels;

(12) the establishment of such a vehicle fleet and distribution system would provide a large market that would mobilize private resources to substantially advance the technology and expand the production of alcohol fuels in the United States and abroad;

(13) the United States has an urgent national security interest to develop alcohol fuels technology, production, and distribution systems as rapidly as possible;

(14) new cars sold in the United States that are equipped with an internal combustion engine should allow for fuel competition by being flexible fuel vehicles, and new diesel cars should be capable of operating on biodiesel; and

(15) such an open fuel standard would help to protect the United States economy from high and volatile oil prices and from the threats caused by global instability, terrorism, and natural disaster.

I’m gonna vomit my way through the “findings” sections. Here’s the next one. Now picture this – they are going to give us trees? A “large tree,” as they term it, takes 30 or so years to get “large.” And at the same time that these trees are presenting landscaping nightmares, we’ll be running into an illegal shortage to clean the sh** up! What’s next, Union of Landscapers, Local 1034?

SEC. 205. TREE PLANTING PROGRAMS.

(a) Findings- The Congress finds that–

(1) the utility sector is the largest single source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States today, producing approximately one-third of the country’s emissions;

(2) heating and cooling homes accounts for nearly 60 percent of residential electricity usage in the United States;

(3) shade trees planted in strategic locations can reduce residential cooling costs by as much as 30 percent;

(4) shade trees have significant clean-air benefits associated with them;

(5) every 100 healthy large trees removes about 300 pounds of air pollution (including particulate matter and ozone) and about 15 tons of carbon dioxide from the air each year;

(6) tree cover on private property and on newly-developed land has declined since the 1970s, even while emissions from transportation and industry have been rising; and

(7) in over a dozen test cities across the United States, increasing urban tree cover has generated between two and five dollars in savings for every dollar invested in such tree planting.

Another job for ACORN:

SEC. 244. MOTOR MARKET ASSESSMENT AND COMMERCIAL AWARENESS PROGRAM.

(a) Findings- Congress finds that–

(1) electric motor systems account for about half of the electricity used in the United States;

(2) electric motor energy use is determined by both the efficiency of the motor and the system in which the motor operates;

(3) Federal Government research on motor end use and efficiency opportunities is more than a decade old; and

(4) the Census Bureau has discontinued collection of data on motor and generator importation, manufacture, shipment, and sales.

Al Gore must be so proud. What’s this “Safe Climate Act”? And how are these fools getting the global-warming mantra put into legislation when the science is still out? Now they are claiming that global warming is injurious to the people of the United States. Wow. Libtards.

‘SEC. 701. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. [TITLE VII--GLOBAL WARMING POLLUTION REDUCTION PROGRAM - ‘PART A--GLOBAL WARMING POLLUTION REDUCTION GOALS AND TARGETS ]

‘(a) Findings- The Congress finds as follows:

‘(1) Global warming poses a significant threat to the national security, economy, public health and welfare, and environment of the United States, as well as of other nations.

‘(2) Reviews of scientific studies, including by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the National Academy of Sciences, demonstrate that global warming is the result of the combined anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions from numerous sources of all types and sizes. Each increment of emission, when combined with other emissions, causes or contributes materially to the acceleration and extent of global warming and its adverse effects for the lifetime of such gas in the atmosphere. Accordingly, controlling emissions in small as well as large amounts is essential to prevent, slow the pace of, reduce the threats from, and mitigate global warming and its adverse effects.

‘(3) Because they induce global warming, greenhouse gas emissions cause or contribute to injuries to persons in the United States, including–

‘(A) adverse health effects such as disease and loss of life;

‘(B) displacement of human populations;

‘(C) damage to property and other interests related to ocean levels, acidification, and ice changes;

‘(D) severe weather and seasonal changes;

‘(E) disruption, costs, and losses to business, trade, employment, farms, subsistence, aesthetic enjoyment of the environment, recreation, culture, and tourism;

‘(F) damage to plants, forests, lands, and waters;

‘(G) harm to wildlife and habitat;

‘(H) scarcity of water and the decreased abundance of other natural resources;

‘(I) worsening of tropospheric air pollution;

‘(J) substantial threats of similar damage; and

‘(K) other harm.

‘(4) That many of these effects and risks of future effects of global warming are widely shared does not minimize the adverse effects individual persons have suffered, will suffer, and are at risk of suffering because of global warming.

‘(5) That some of the adverse and potentially catastrophic effects of global warming are at risk of occurring and not a certainty does not negate the harm persons suffer from actions that increase the likelihood, extent, and severity of such future impacts.

‘(6) Nations of the world look to the United States for leadership in addressing the threat of and harm from global warming. Full implementation of the Safe Climate Act is critical to engage other nations in an international effort to mitigate the threat of and harm from global warming.

‘(7) Global warming and its adverse effects are occurring and are likely to continue and increase in magnitude, and to do so at a greater and more harmful rate, unless the Safe Climate Act is fully implemented and enforced in an expeditious manner.

Planting more trees. You want to stop deforestation in 3d world countries? Outlaw McD’s. They deforest to make room for Big-Macs-on-a-hoof. Oh, but wait, isn’t McD’s the ACORN-restaurant-of-choice? They give out coupons to that for star voter-registrations people, right? OK, scratch that.

Let’s look further. The UN is involved. That’s always a waste of time. The Bali Initiative. Quick Google – all I get is Markey virtually masturbating as he virtually participated in the “Climate Change Negotiations in Bali.” We pay for this crap? But wait, if the negotiations took place and then some formal doc came out of it, why doesn’t it float to the top of a search? Odd. Must look harder.

Well, choke this down:

‘SEC. 752. FINDINGS. [PART E--SUPPLEMENTAL EMISSIONS REDUCTIONS FROM REDUCED DEFORESTATION]

‘Congress finds that–

‘(1) as part of a global effort to mitigate climate change, it is in the national interest of the United States to assist developing countries to reduce and ultimately halt emissions from deforestation;

‘(2) deforestation is one of the largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions in developing countries, amounting to roughly 20 percent of overall emissions globally;

‘(3) recent scientific analysis shows that it will be substantially more difficult to limit the increase in global temperatures to less than 2 degrees centigrade above preindustrial levels without reducing and ultimately halting net emissions from deforestation;

‘(4) reducing emissions from deforestation is highly cost-effective, compared to many other sources of emissions reductions;

‘(5) in addition to contributing significantly to worldwide efforts to address global warming, this assistance will generate significant environmental and social cobenefits, including protection of biodiversity, ecosystem services, and forest-related livelihoods; and

‘(6) Under the Bali Action Plan, developed country parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, including the United States, committed to ‘enhanced action on the provision of financial resources and investment to support action on mitigation and adaptation and technology cooperation,’ including, inter alia, consideration of ‘improved access to adequate, predictable, and sustainable financial resources and financial and technical support, and the provision of new and additional resources, including official and concessional funding for developing country parties’ .

Here we go – more UN spending our money. Great. Oh, hey, Waxboy – the first “finding” is a phrase – you trying to say something there?

SEC. 441. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. [Subtitle D--Exporting Clean Technology]

(a) Findings- Congress finds the following:

(1) Protecting Americans from the impacts of climate change requires global reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

(2) Although developing countries are historically least responsible for the cumulative greenhouse gas emissions that are causing climate change and continue to have very low per capita greenhouse gas emissions, their overall greenhouse gas emissions are increasing as they seek to grow their economies and reduce energy poverty for their populations.

(3) Many developing countries lack the financial and technical resources to adopt clean energy technologies and absent assistance their greenhouse gas emissions will continue to increase.

(4) Investments in clean energy technology cooperation can substantially reduce global greenhouse gas emissions while providing developing countries with incentives to adopt policies that will address competitiveness concerns related to regulation of United States greenhouse gas emissions.

(5) Investments in clean technology in developing countries will increase demand for clean energy products, open up new markets for United States companies, spur innovation, and lower costs.
(6) Under Article 4 of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, developed country parties, including the United States, committed to ‘take all practicable steps to promote, facilitate, and finance, as appropriate, the transfer of, or access to, environmentally sound technologies and know-how to other parties, particularly developing country parties, to enable them to implement the provisions of the Convention’.

(7) Under the Bali Action Plan, developed country parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, including the United States, committed to ‘enhanced action on the provision of financial resources and investment to support action on mitigation and adaptation and technology cooperation,’ including, inter alia, consideration of ‘improved access to adequate, predictable, and sustainable financial resources and financial and technical support, and the provision of new and additional resources, including official and concessional funding for developing country parties’.

Global warming could cause wars as we compete for food. Will we draw straws to see who is a hunter and who is a gatherer? We can’t do it by gender, not without a hate-crime motif, right? So let’s use the UN to tell us how to spend more money!!!! Yeah!!!!!

SEC. 491. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. [PART 2--INTERNATIONAL CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION PROGRAM]

(a) Findings- Congress finds the following:

(1) Global climate change is a potentially significant national and global security threat multiplier and is likely to exacerbate competition and conflict over agricultural, vegetative, marine, and water resources and to result in increased displacement of people, poverty, and hunger within developing countries.

(2) The strategic, social, political, economic, cultural, and environmental consequences of global climate change are likely to have disproportionate adverse impacts on developing countries, which have less economic capacity to respond to such impacts.

(3) The countries most vulnerable to climate change, due both to greater exposure to harmful impacts and to lower capacity to adapt, are developing countries with very low industrial greenhouse gas emissions that have contributed less to climate change than more affluent countries.

(4) To a much greater degree than developed countries, developing countries rely on the natural and environmental systems likely to be affected by climate change for sustenance, livelihoods, and economic growth and stability.

(5) Within developing countries there may be varying climate change adaptation and resilience needs among different communities and populations, including impoverished communities, children, women, and indigenous peoples.

(6) The consequences of global climate change, including increases in poverty and destabilization of economies and societies, are likely to pose long-term challenges to the national security, foreign policy, and economic interests of the United States.

(7) It is in the national security, foreign policy, and economic interests of the United States to recognize, plan for, and mitigate the international strategic, social, political, cultural, environmental, health, and economic effects of climate change and to assist developing countries to increase their resilience to those effects.

(8) Under Article 4 of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, developed country parties, including the United States, committed to ‘assist the developing country parties that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change in meeting costs of adaptation to those adverse effects’.

(9) Under the Bali Action Plan, developed country parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, including the United States, committed to ‘enhanced action on the provision of financial resources and investment to support action on mitigation and adaptation and technology cooperation,’ including, inter alia, consideration of ‘improved access to adequate, predictable, and sustainable financial resources and financial and technical support, and the provision of new and additional resources, including official and concessional funding for developing country parties’.

That’s it for the “findings.” I may write more on these or just move on. How very sad these creatures are.

Speaking of moving on, I found this gem that I want to pull the original legislation for. I need better context. But check out the chilling effect on commerce:

Subtitle E–Additional Market Assurance – SEC. 359. CEASE-AND-DESIST AUTHORITY.

(a) Natural Gas Act- Section 20 of the Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 717s) is amended by adding the following at the end:

‘(e) Cease-and-Desist Proceedings; Temporary Orders; Authority of the Commission-

‘(1) IN GENERAL- If the Commission finds, after notice and opportunity for hearing, that any entity may be violating, may have violated, or may be about to violate any provision of this Act, or any rule, regulation, restriction, condition, or order made or imposed by the Commission under the authority of this Act, the Commission may publish its findings and issue an order requiring such entity, and any other entity that is, was, or would be a cause of the violation, due to an act or omission the entity knew or should have known would contribute to such violation, to cease and desist from committing or causing such violation and any future violation of the same provision, rule, or regulation. Such order may, in addition to requiring an entity to cease and desist from committing or causing a violation, require such entity to comply, to provide an accounting and disgorgement, or to take steps to effect compliance, with such provision, rule, or regulation, upon such terms and conditions and within such time as the Commission may specify in such order. Any such order may, as the Commission deems appropriate, require future compliance or steps to effect future compliance, either permanently or for such period of time as the Commission may specify.

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