EPA and the New Revolution

From the beginning of his term, President Obama directed government agencies and his congressional allies to help him transform the United States. They were eager and in alignment with things like nationalizing the nation’s healthcare system. Now, however, they disjoin his efforts. Signs portend a newer revolution—and the energy and environment arena is only part of the total picture (albeit an enormously important one).

Ozone

EPA is determined to implement stringent new ozone regulations – even though U.S. ozone levels and overall air quality have been improving steadily for decades and the already-tough 2008 ozone standards have not yet been fully implemented. This new action would turn hundreds of cities and counties into nonattainment areas, impair manufacturing and transportation, cost up to $140 billion per year, and increase unemployment – for health benefits that are at best highly inflated.

Coal-fueled Electricity Generation

The Obama EPA’s Clean Power Plan (CPP) will force more coal mines and power plants to close, imposing higher electricity costs on businesses and families and resulting in lost jobs, lower incomes, higher poverty rates, reduced living standards, and diminished health and welfare. The CPP will hit African Americans and Hispanics especially hard and require families to pay $1,225 more per year for electricity, heating and air conditioning in 2030 than in 2012.

Impacts on People

EPA’s rules are devastating coal-reliant communities. By 2020, they will cost 75,000 direct jobs in coal mines, power plants and railroads, one union study estimates; by 2035, job losses will reach 152,000. When secondary employment is included, the total impact will be some 485,000 jobs lost. This will also affect state tax revenues and funding for company pensions and retirement health care benefits, putting hundreds of thousands of current and future retirees in harm’s way.

EPA ignores the huge toll that job losses have on people’s health and welfare. Unemployed families find it harder to buy food, pay for doctors’ visits and medicine, give to churches and charities, save for college and retirement, and make mortgage, rent and car payments. They face less sleep, worse nutrition, and more stress, depression, drug and alcohol abuse, spousal and child abuse, strokes and heart attacks.

Trade Unions

Once strong supporters of President Obama, the United Mine Workers of America, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and other unions have come out in strong opposition to the administration’s job-killing actions on the Keystone XL Pipeline and other initiatives.

Dwindling Overseas Support

Countries once enamored with “renewable” energy are now reexamining those policies, as they realize wind and solar energy kills 4-6 jobs for every “green” job created via unsustainable subsidies – and the electricity costs families and businesses up to 36-40 cents per kilowatt-hour (without counting taxpayer subsidies), compared to 8-9 cents per kWh in coal-reliant U.S. states.

Far too many EPA and other environmental regulations are wrong for workers, families, states and the overall “quality of the human environment.” That’s why “there’s a battle outside raging.” Free, responsible citizens do not want or need to be “fundamentally transformed” by deceit, collusion and decree.