{"id":10371,"date":"2014-06-27T16:39:08","date_gmt":"2014-06-27T20:39:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/?p=10371"},"modified":"2014-06-27T16:39:08","modified_gmt":"2014-06-27T20:39:08","slug":"esa-policy-news-june-27-former-gop-epa-admins-support-climate-action-new-nsf-communications-toolkit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/2014\/06\/27\/esa-policy-news-june-27-former-gop-epa-admins-support-climate-action-new-nsf-communications-toolkit\/","title":{"rendered":"ESA Policy News June 27: GOP Former EPA admins support climate action, new NSF communications ‘toolkit’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Here are some highlights from the latest ESA Policy News by Policy Analyst Terence Houston. Read the full Policy News\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/em>\u00a0\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

SENATE: FORMER GOP EPA ADMINISTRATORS DEFEND REGULATORY EFFORTS TO ADDRESS CLIMATE CHANGE<\/strong><\/p>\n

Four former US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrators who served under Republican presidents testified before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee in support of the Obama administration\u2019s proposed standards for greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions from existing fossil-fueled power plants.<\/p>\n

The former EPA administrators served under Presidents Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush. In their testimony, the administrators reiterated the scientific consensus that human activity is contributing to global warming and affirmed the EPA\u2019s authority to regulate GHG emissions as provided under the Clean Air Act. They also called on Congress to join President Obama and demonstrate global leadership to address the causes of climate change.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe like to speak of American exceptionalism,\u201d stated William Ruckelshaus, the first and fifth EPA Administrator (1970\u20131973, 1983\u20131985). \u201cIf we want to be truly exceptional then we should begin the difficult task of leading the world away from the unacceptable effects of our increasing appetites for fossil fuels before it is too late.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI must begin by expressing my frustration that the discussion about whether the Environmental Protection Agency has the legal authority to regulate carbon emissions is still taking place in some quarters,\u201d stated former EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman (2001\u20132003). \u201cThe issue has been settled. EPA does have the authority. The law says so, and the [US] Supreme Court has said so twice. The matter should be put to rest.\u201d Noting that humans are contributing to climate change, Whitman further added that \u201cwhen one is contributing to a problem, one has an obligation to be part of the solution that problem. That is what EPA is trying to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

View the full hearing by clicking this\u00a0link<\/a>.<\/p>\n

SUPREME COURT: PERMIT RULING LEAVES EPA REGULATORY AUTHORITY LARGELY INTACT<\/strong><\/p>\n

This week the US Supreme Court validated the power of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) in its ruling in the case of\u00a0Utility Air Regulatory Group v. EPA<\/em>. It was the third time the high court has upheld the use of the Clean Air Act to combat challenges posed by climate change.<\/p>\n

In the majority opinion 5-4 decision, Justice Antonin Scalia ruled that emissions of greenhouse gases alone are not enough to trigger EPA enforcement under the program for smaller businesses, but that the \u201ctrigger\u201d threshold is intended for major polluters. He said, \u201cIt bears mentioning that EPA is getting almost everything it wanted in this case,\u201d Scalia said in the courtroom. \u201cIt sought to regulate sources that it said were responsible for 86 percent of all greenhouse gases emitted from stationary sources. Under our holdings, EPA will be able to regulate sources responsible for 83 percent of those emissions.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, in a separate part of the decision, the court ruled 7-2 to require new or rebuilt factories and power plants to use the \u201cbest available technology\u201d to limit their emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Because these \u201cmajor polluters\u201d are already required to obtain clean-air permits from the government, Scalia wrote the EPA is justified in adding GHG to the list of restricted pollutants. Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas were the two dissenting justices who felt EPA regulatory authority should be restricted.<\/p>\n

The full decision is available by clicking this\u00a0link<\/a>.<\/p>\n

HOUSE: EPA CARBON RULES TAKE HEAT DURING COMMITTEE HEARING<\/strong><\/p>\n

On June 19th, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Power convened for a hearing on the US Environmental Protection Agency\u2019s (EPA) proposed carbon emission rules for existing power plants, referred to as the \u201cClean Power Plan\u201d proposal.<\/p>\n

Republican committee members expressed concern over the potential detrimental effects the power plant rules would have on the coal industry as well as its effects on utility bills for consumers. Members also expressed skepticism regarding the level of flexibility EPA would grant the states in meeting the power plant requirements.<\/p>\n

Committee Democrats took offense to accusations that the proposed rules would cost jobs. House Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Henry Waxman (D-CA) published a minority-committee fact sheet outlining revenues generated by Clean Air Act enforcement efforts. He quoted coal-burning facility senior officials who assert that the president\u2019s Clean Power Plan will have \u201ca relatively minor\u201d to \u201cno immediate impact\u201d on power plants.<\/p>\n

Representing the Obama administration at the hearing was Janet McCabe, acting assistant administrator for EPA\u2019s Office of Air and Radiation. In her testimony before the committee, McCabe explained how the plan benefits human health and the environment and noted that it was developed through continued engagement with state officials, utility companies and other affected stakeholders.<\/p>\n

View the full hearing this\u00a0link<\/a>.<\/p>\n

HOUSE: SCIENCE COMMITTEE ADVANCES \u2018SECRET SCIENCE\u2019 BILL<\/strong><\/p>\n

On June 24th\u00a0the House Science, Space and Technology Committee approved H.R. 4012, the \u201cSecret Science Reform Act,\u201d legislation that intends to increase transparency of scientific processes at the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).<\/p>\n

The bill passed the committee by a vote of 17\u201313 along party lines. Republicans asserted the scientific data used by the EPA to formulate its clean air regulations should be public information. The EPA and committee Democrats argued that the agency is forthcoming in answering requests related to its scientific processes. The private-health data of individuals is used by EPA to determine clean air regulations and is protected from public disclosure to protect their privacy.<\/p>\n

Committee Republicans contended there are methods available to publicize the data without compromising personal health information. Environment Subcommittee Ranking Member Suzanne Bonamci (D-OR) offered a substitute amendment to the bill requiring EPA to publish agency-funded peer-reviewed articles, but not the underlying raw data. The amendment was voted down by a voice vote.<\/p>\n

No date has been set for when the bill will be brought to the House floor.<\/p>\n

View the full mark-up of the bill by clicking this\u00a0link<\/a>.<\/p>\n

FOREIGN AFFAIRS: UNEP RELEASES 2013 ANNUAL REPORT<\/strong><\/p>\n

The United Nation\u2019s Environmental Programme (UNEP) published its 2013 annual report, available online in the six official UNEP languages.<\/p>\n

The report\u2019s content focuses on international efforts to address various environmental issues including climate change, disasters and conflicts, ecosystem management, environmental governance, hazardous substances and resource efficiency.<\/p>\n

To view the full report, click this\u00a0link<\/a>.<\/p>\n

ENDANGERED SPECIES: USDA, BLM FUND CA, NV SAGE GROUSE CONSERVATION EFFORTS<\/strong><\/p>\n

On June 20th, the Obama administration announced $32 million in funding over the next ten years to protect a subpopulation of sage grouse only found along the state border between California and Southwest Nevada referred to as the \u201cbi-state\u201d or Mono Basin population.<\/p>\n

The US Department of Agriculture will provide the majority of the funds with $25.5 million dedicated towards voluntary partnerships with ranchers in both states to conserve sage grouse habitat. The Bureau of Land Management is committing $6.5 million to implement a variety of conservation activities on federal lands.<\/p>\n

Additional information on efforts to conserve the bi-state population is available following this\u00a0link<\/a>.<\/p>\n

NSF: NEW \u2018TOOLKIT\u2019 SEEKS TO PROMOTE AGENCY\u2019S\u00a0 CONTRIBUTION TO INNOVATION<\/strong><\/p>\n

The National Science Foundation (NSF) released a new communications \u201ctoolkit\u201d that includes videos, infographics, fact sheets and other materials detailing how agency-funded research contributes to advancing scientific discovery and innovation in the US.<\/p>\n

The animated video in the kit details the agency\u2019s merit review process. Other communication tools include charts that illustrate NSF\u2019s role in fostering careers in science, driving research, innovation and facilitating interdisciplinary collaborations. They also issued new brochures that highlight each of its directorates\u2019 roles in scientific breakthroughs such as self-driving cars, artificial retina, seismic wave modeling and improved GPS technology.<\/p>\n

View the toolkit through this\u00a0link<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here are some highlights from the latest ESA Policy News by Policy Analyst Terence Houston. Read the full Policy News\u00a0here.\u00a0 SENATE: FORMER GOP EPA ADMINISTRATORS DEFEND REGULATORY EFFORTS TO ADDRESS CLIMATE CHANGE Four former US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrators who served under Republican presidents testified before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee in support of the Obama administration\u2019s…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":10247,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,91],"tags":[110,176,328,177,60,63,132,1077,178,66,67,313,104,221],"class_list":["post-10371","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ecology-in-policy","category-policy-news","tag-agriculture","tag-carbon-dioxide","tag-carbon-emissions","tag-clean-air-act","tag-climate-change","tag-endangered-species","tag-energy","tag-greenhouse-gas-emissions","tag-greenhouse-gases","tag-national-science-foundation","tag-nsf","tag-policy-news","tag-species","tag-usda"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10371","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/43"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10371"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10371\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10247"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10371"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10371"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10371"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}