Congress Must Control the EPA on Carbon Dioxide Emissions

Open letter to Rep. Neugebauer.

Randy,

There has been a lot of confusion on who can control carbon dioxide emissions from various industrial operations, such as generation of electricity from coal burning power plants. Some individual States, Federal Trial Courts, and Courts of Appeals have previously claimed this right.

However, the US Supreme Court has put an end to that controversy. It concluded that regulating carbon dioxide is a job which Congress reserved for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Clean Air Act.

This is both good and news. In organized society, we need to know who has responsibility for any legal aspects. Designating a specific organization is the good news. Designating the EPA is the news.

We know from much previous analysis that carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere have no significant effect on climate change, but the EPA does not accept that fact. This happens for political reasons. It is the intention of the Obama Administration to develop alternate energy sources (solar and wind) and reduce dependence on oil, and apparently on coal as prime energy sources. We don't know why the Obama Administration has decided on this objective. It seems inconceivable that Obama would intentionally destroy our economy and our society. It is more conceivable that he would use this to develop world socialism through redistribution of wealth, with a taxation process.

The EPA is an agency that operates under the direction of the Obama Administration. Obama is the boss. He develops the rules to follow, and the EPA and its employees are supposed to be good soldiers and follow those rules. This is as it should be in any organization. Collective support and loyalty to a particular program are paramount to the continued existence of an organization. This is true whether it's on a corporate level or in government. Unfortunately, it has its downside. One example is the support of the German people to the Nazi government during World War II, leading to mass extermination of millions of Jews. This is an extreme example, and it's quite possible that employees who are not morally convinced concerning objectives of an organization have the option of lying to themselves for benefits and salary or leaving the organization to pursue other endeavors. We don't know which it is with the EPA and its employees, probably a little of both.

However, the real control lies in Congress. Congress set up the EPA. Congress can take down the EPA. Congress can also specify certain actions that the EPA is allowed to pursue.

Randy, you are a member of Congress. It's up to you and your associates to have the EPA work under a set of rules which will not destroy our economy and society.