How climate change will impact states like Missouri-via U. S. National Climate Assessment

 

U. S. National Climate Assessment outlines how climate change will impact states like Missouri.  

States are taking action

Before issuing this proposal, EPA heard from states, utilities, labor unions, nongovernmental organizations, consumer groups, industry and others to learn more about what programs are already working to reduce carbon pollution.  We learned that states are leading the way– especially through programs that expand energy efficiency and renewable energy. Missouri already has programs in place that could be part of its individual or regional plan to reduce carbon pollution, including: 

• Energy efficiency standards or goals
• Demand-side energy efficiency programs that advance energy efficiency improvements for electricity use
• Renewable energy portfolio standards or goals

Proposed state goals build on state leadership

To set state-specific goals, EPA analyzed the practical and affordable strategies that states and utilities are already using to lower carbon pollution from the power sector. These include improving energy efficiency, improving power plant operations, and encouraging reliance on low-carbon and zero-emitting electricity generation. Together, these make up the best system for reducing carbon pollution. They achieve meaningful reductions at a lower cost. 

The Agency applied these strategies consistently, but each state’s energy mix ultimately leads to a different goal that is unique to the state.

 

In 2012, Missouri’s power sector CO2 emissions were approximately 71 million metric tons from sources covered by the rule. The amount of energy produced by fossil-fuel fired plants, and certain low or zero emitting plants was approximately 80 terawatt hours (TWh)*. So, Missouri’s 2012 emission rate was 1,963 pounds/megawatt hours (lb/MWh).  

EPA is proposing that Missouri develop a plan to lower its carbon pollution to meet its proposed emission rate goal of 1,544 lb/MWh in 2030.

*includes existing non-hydro renewable energy generation and approximately 6% of nuclear generation. The 2012 emission rate shown here has not been adjusted for any incremental end-use energy efficiency improvements that states may make as part of their plans to reach these state goals. 

States decide how to cut carbon pollution 

The state goals are not requirements on individual electric generating units. Missouri will choose how to meet the goal through whatever combination of measures reflects its particular circumstances and policy objectives. A state does not have to put in place the same mix of strategies that EPA used to set the goal.

Missouri may work alone or in cooperation with other states to comply with the proposed rule.  EPA estimates that states could achieve their goals most cost effectively if they work with others.  

EPA encourages states to look broadly across their electricity system to identify strategies for their plans to reduce carbon pollution.  Strategies can include:   

• Demand-side energy efficiency programs
• Renewable energy standards
• Efficiency improvements at plants
• Dispatch changes
• Co-firing or switching to natural gas
• Construction of new Natural Gas Combined-Cycle plants
• Transmission efficiency improvements
• Energy storage technology
• Retirements
• Expanding renewables like wind and solar
• Expanding nuclear
• Market-based trading programs
• Energy conservation programs

Missouri's Energy Mix in 2012 (in percentage)

Hover over the chart to see more info. (Source: The EIA form 923)

Missouri's Role in New Carbon Plan-proposed emission rate goal of 1,544 lb per MWh in 2030

• 2012, Missouri’s power sector CO2 emissions were approximately 71 million metric tons from sources covered by the rule. The amount of energy produced by fossil-fuel fired plants, and certain low or zero emitting plants was approximately 80 terawatt hours (TWh)*. So, Missouri’s 2012 emission rate was 1,963 pounds/megawatt hours (lb/MWh).
  EPA is proposing that Missouri develop a plan to lower its carbon pollution to meet its proposed emission rate goal of 1,544 lb/MWh in 2030

Clean Power Plan - States

The science shows that climate change is already posing risks to our health and our economy.

Nationwide by 2030, the Clean Power Plan will help cut carbon emissions from the power sector by 30 percent below 2005 levels.

The proposal also would cut pollution that leads to the formation of soot and smog by over 25 percent in 2030.

States, cities and businesses across our country are already taking action. They have set energy efficiency targets, increased their use of renewable energy, made agreements and implemented programs to cut carbon pollution.

Read More at:

• http://cleanpowerplanmaps.epa.gov/CleanPowerPlan/
•  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/06/epa-map-co2-emissions_n_5461848.html?utm_hp_ref=green

Thank You for stopping by-Share and Comment below. If additional information in needed or you have a question let me know. Together we can make a difference. Build a Green StLouis Get Your Green Building Tips and Resources at St Louis Renewable Energy Green Blog
-->

Another Example-GOP Out of Touch With America

I ask myself what is the big deal with stopping Pollution from Fossil Fuels and GHG's? 

? Doesn't everyone want to be healthy? 

Why is it wrong to Protecting the Environment? 

? Do the Republicans understand that when they cut health care and then Remove Environmental Safe Guards that "We the People" could get sick and then not have any access to Health Care because they have DE-Funded the Programs?

Ms Lisa Jackson, Administrator for the EPA cites:

• 60 percent of Americans believe the E.P.A. “needs to hold polluters accountable,”

• 75% of Americans favor tougher regulations on pollution in order to protect our air and water
  

• the contamination of our soil and water is the #1 issue for Americans

These are just some of the questions I asked myself.  To attempt to learn why the GOP is so Short-Sighted and not protecting the America they say they so strongly care for. I started looking and searching into why the Republicans are voting the way they are.

Through the Power of the Internet (which they are also trying to curtail) I found the Open Secrets Web Site.

OpenSecrets.org is your nonpartisan guide to money’s influence on U.S. elections and public policy. Whether you’re a voter, journalist, activist, student or interested citizen, use our free site to shine light on your government. Count cash and make change.

I Found out who the Top Oil and Gas Contributors were in 2009-2010.  In the graph below you will see the Republicans in RED and the Democrats in BLUE and you can see for yourself which party receives the Largest Contributions.

I don't own a Calculator that will add figures into the Multi Billions of Dollars.  What I do know is that if the Oil and Gas Companies have that much money to spend on Lobbying the Republican Party;  Then "We the People" are getting screwed over when we pay to fill up at the Gas Pumps.

If they weren't Lobbying Multi Billion Dollars to Buy the Republican Party OFF to vote for Dirty Fossil Fuels and decreased Regulations on GHG's our/ "We the People" Gas Prices Would be Lower. 

I feel this is a personal assault against the Average American and Small Business.  We are the Major Supporters of the US Government through the Taxes that are levied against our paychecks and through the Goods and Services we depend on. 

Through the News Networks: CNN, HLN, CNBC I've learned that the Major Corporations are not paying their fair share of Taxes.  So this leaves "We the Average Citizens" paying more taxes to support the "Wasteful Government Spending"

I don't have a solution but I do know that there needs to be some changes made in the way our Government operates.

Here are just some of the things I do and are planning to do and urge all concerned American Citizens to the same.

1. I will vote a Straight Democratic Ticket for the First Time in my Life in the Up-Coming Elections.  (I don't agree with many of their views but the Alternative is Worse.)
   
2. I have contacted my Government Representatives through this web site and let my voice be heard- I suggest that Every Concerned American Do The Same
   
3. Stay Active in the Political Discussions.  I post frequent Articles on my Web Sites: St Louis Renewable Energy and Scotts Contracting  That highlight the GOP Republicans attempts to undermine and drive the Average American into the Poor House.
4. Stay Informed on the Issues that are Affecting American and re-peat 2 above.  If your Elected Leaders do not know on how you stand on the issues, How will they support your views and Vote on the Issues you Support?
• When Listening to the Republicans on TV and Radio- Don't let their slick tongues distort the real issues- "Listen and Watch"- while reading between the Lines.
  
5. Because of the way Lobbying Activities Work in Washington there needs to be additional safeguards enacted to protect "We the Americans" from the Major Corporations who are gaining- more and more power, and removing the protections that the Average American Depends upon.
   

Contributor	Amount
Koch Industries	$1,931,562
Exxon Mobil	$1,337,058
Chief Oil & Gas	$1,192,361
Chevron Corp	$937,964
Marathon Oil	$678,290
Valero Energy	$636,500
Occidental Petroleum	$575,900
Devon Energy	$507,250
Williams Companies	$491,685
Chesapeake Energy	$467,056
ConocoPhillips	$462,204
Independent Petroleum Assn of America	$459,500
Anadarko Petroleum	$443,260
American Gas Assn	$386,400
Halliburton Co	$314,280
Pilot Corp	$290,567
Tesoro Petroleum	$277,883
Society of Indep Gasoline Marketers	$274,000
Bass Brothers Enterprises	$247,465
Petroleum Marketers Assn	$243,900

 

For additional ideas on:

1. Reducing GHG's
2. Becoming Energy Efficient
3. Saving $ on Energy Costs
4. Government Reform
5. Clean Energy Jobs

Take the Poll on Where the Energy Will Come From for Your Property in the Future:
Feel Free to use the Links Below.
--

Scott's Contracting

Green Me UP-Scotty

scottscontracting@gmail.com
http://stlouisrenewableenergy.blogspot.com
http://scottscontracting.wordpress.com
http://twitter.com/StLHandyMan https://www.facebook.com/GreenMeUPScotty

EPA Creating Jobs while Protecting the USA

• the E.P.A. will continue to do its job, which is to protect the health of the American people 

  jobs are being produced through this environmental clean-up work 

  •  17,500 properties have been cleaned up recently, creating 70,000 jobs

  60 percent of Americans believe the E.P.A. “needs to hold polluters accountable,”

  • 75% or three-fourths of Americans favor tougher regulations on pollution in order to protect our air and water
   
• the contamination of our soil and water is the number one issue for Americans

•  Protect the EPA from Republican Polluters

E.P.A. Administrator Jackson Fights Back

04/08/2011 by asladirt    emphasis Added by Scotty

EPA Admin Lisa Jackson

At the national Brownfields conference in Philadelphia, which was attended by more than 7,000 national and local policymakers, engineers, designers, and artists, E.P.A. Administrator Lisa Jackson said Republican members of Congress are trying to cut funding to the E.P.A. and limit its ability to regulate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Jackson said some members of Congress see the E.P.A. as “over-reaching and only out for power.” While this “back and forth is important to our democracy,” the E.P.A. will “continue to do its job, which is to protect the health of the American people, while moving ahead.”

Jackson said much of the country is scaling back due to the tough economic times and the federal government “also needs to take responsibility.” However, she believes there’s a “reasonable way to scale back.”

While some Republicans are convinced that the E.P.A. is trying to “grab power” and any attempt to regulate the GHG emissions will, in effect, cost jobs, Jackson said Republicans should just look at the work local communities are doing to restore brownfield sites and see how many jobs are being produced through this environmental clean-up work.  Jackson said, “if they could only see the before and after of this vital brownfields work.”

According to a recent poll by USA Today, some 60 percent of Americans believe the E.P.A. “needs to hold polluters accountable,” said Jackson. In addition, some “three-fourths of Americans favor tougher regulations on pollution in order to protect our air and water.” She believes “the contamination of our soil and water is the number one issue for Americans.” If there’s more pollution, we’ll only “see more sickness and more contaminated sites.”

Within the E.P.A., brownfield work is a “point of pride.” Some 17,500 properties have been cleaned up recently, creating 70,000 jobs. Jackson said she would make brownfield remediation a continued priority. She added “brownfield redevelopment can be a part of conservation efforts as well.”

Jackson also highlighted the new sustainable community building block program that is a part of the Partnership for Sustainable Communities, which was formed with the U.S. Department of Transporation and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Some 32 communities just received grants that will bring in private sector experts to help conduct “walkability audits.” Both large cities and small communities won grants.

Before getting her second standing ovation, Jackson said, “these are challenging times but we need to uphold the environmental laws of this country.”

 crossposted Image credit: E.P.A. Administrator Lisa Jackson / DC Streets  Blog

Disgusted with the Politicians

? not happy with the Politicians and their Back Room Deals with Big Oil, Big Coal, and Big Business.  I suggest to everyone to check out the site.  It is full of valuable information about who is donating and to whom.  After viewing the information- You to will then have an idea (A-Ha Moment!!!) of why the politicians vote as they do.

In regard to Climate Change and Global Warming- the Biggest Polluters Donate the most money to the Politicians.  The Majority of the Republican Party receives Donations (Numbering in the Millions) to their piggy banks in the form of Lobbying $ Money $, campaign re-election funds, etc

The only viable solutions I can see is to: 

1) End lobbying activities by Big Business;
2) Don't Vote Republican (in the upcoming elections-I will be voting a Straight Democratic Ticket Democratic Ticket for the 1st time in my life- and I personally am still in shock when I say this);
3)Get serious about Reducing Energy Use- by Weatherization, Recycling, and Renewable Energy in your Home and Work.

Sincerely,

Scotty 

Political Joke

Diapers and Politicians should be changed often-Both for the same reason.

 Scotts Contracting, StLouis Renewable Energy

PS: a house is built one piece at a time, each stage of the Building Process is built on the preceding one. The same technique can be applied to Building a Less Polluted and Better World for everyone.

Article also posted here:  http://www.sodahead.com/united-states/corporations-or-politicians-hurting-america/question-1452293/comment-54728007/ and Repower America

• blog updated and bad links repaired 10/2/2013 scotty
• Politician Joke added 6/20/2014.  Proud to say I am and will continue voting a Democratic Ticket as well as promoting all the atrocities of the GOP- Wars Over Oil being my Number One Issue.

EPA-A BIG announcement

Friends, For too long, the fossil fuel industry has had its way on the climate issue--its money has overwhelmed the scientific facts, delaying action on the largest challenge humanity now faces. Right now, the the Clean Air Act is being threatened, the EPA is under attack, and big polluters are mounting an all-out onslaught that threatens to destroy our lands and scorch our planet.  In short, we are losing ground. In the face of these challenges, one thing is clear: if we want to win, we will have to come together like we never have before. That's why we at 350.org and 1Sky have important news to share: starting today, our organizations are officially merging. We'll be called 350.org, and together we'll be smarter, bolder, faster, and more creative than we were before. Find out more about the NEW 350.org: www.350.org/new Over the last three years, 350.org and 1Sky have frequently teamed up for U.S. campaigning. Many of you have been with us every step of the way. Together, we've coordinated over 5,000 climate demonstrations in all 50 states. We've helped protect the Clean Air Act and won a campaign to get solar panels back on the White House. We've launched creative projects to get science at the center of the climate debate, trained thousands of new leaders, and built a network of strong local groups. Despite all of this work, we haven't been winning enough. The truth is that we don't yet have the climate and energy policies our country and the world need. To get them, we'll need to do much, much more to loosen the stranglehold that corporations have over Congress. We'll need to be as strong as possible to take on the fossil fuel companies--and we can be stronger together. That's why we're merging organizations to create a NEW 350.org. The merged organization will be running an ongoing series of cutting-edge campaigns--online and offline--that can help usher in a new era of climate action: We will directly confront the barriers to climate progress--from Big Coal to the US Chamber of Commerce, from the cabal of corrupt politicians attacking the Clean Air Act to an administration too timid to defend it. We will train, empower, and mobilize a grassroots army of individuals, businesses, organizations, and community leaders pushing for climate solutions in the United States.   We will continue our work globally to build a diverse climate movement all around the world that unites for strategic mobilizations on a scale previously unimagined. In just a few short months, we've witnessed people power in action. From the Middle East to the Midwest, movements have risen up to overturn tired dogma and challenge entrenched power. Many of us were inspired by these events. And many of us were surprised. Perhaps we were growing skeptical that people power could still work. Maybe we had forgotten a vital fact about our world: that bold citizens, united around a common mission, can still come together to create major change against enormous odds. This movement will never have the money of the fossil fuel industry, so we'll have to use a different currency: people power. People power means you. It means your friends and neighbors. It means hundreds of thousands of us across the country, uniting to transform our future. We can do it, and we'll need your help--that's why we'll be in close touch in the coming weeks and months about exactly how anyone and everyone can plug into this vital mission. If the events of 2011 have taught us anything, it's that people, properly organized, can do amazing things together. On behalf of everyone at the new 350.org, let us be the first to say: we can't wait to do amazing things with all of you. Onwards, May Boeve - Executive Director of the NEW 350.org Liz Butler - Campaign Director, 1Sky Bill McKibben - Board Chair at 350.org Betsy Taylor - Board Chair at 1Sky

Build the movement in your community: Join the Climate Network. How do I donate? Fund the movement to help make bold climate action a reality. Join our network:

--
Scott's Contracting
scottscontracting@gmail.com
http://stlouisrenewableenergy.blogspot.com
http://scottscontracting.wordpress.com

News: US EPA and Budget Cut

Congress' Failure to Pass Spending Bill Creates Chaos in Agencies
Mar 24, 2011 New York Times

EMILY YEHLE of Greenwire

As federal agencies enter their sixth month without Congress approving a long-term spending bill, some employees are digging into their own pockets for everything from a spiral-bound notebook to an airplane ticket.

Last week, Congress passed the fifth continuing resolution (CR) of this fiscal year, cutting about $6 billion from current spending. Lawmakers say a budget is forthcoming, but concern over a possible shutdown is palpable; 54 Republicans in the House voted against their own party's CR, with many claiming the cuts were not deep enough.

At U.S. EPA, employees say the uncertainty has translated to a decline in morale and a preoccupation with the possibility of staff cuts.

"I am seeing a lot of people frustrated with management and the Agency for not giving more information on what, if any, cuts will be coming and which programs will be impacted," said EPA scientist and union representative Edward Gusterin an email. "A lot of people are fearful of being moved to another position, losing their job or not getting the training they need."

EPA officials have cause to be especially on edge. House Republicans have taken aim at the agency, with many hoping to resuscitate a long-term CR that passed the House last month and would cut EPA's budget by $3 billion. The same bill would cut $1 billion from the budget of the Department of Energy, which Republicans have criticized recently for slow stimulus spending and flawed oversight.

Some Republicans also hope to restrict the administration's authority over key environmental issues, making agencies' future missions even more unclear.

Last week, Rep. Jim Moran of Virginia, the senior Democrat on the House Appropriations subcommittee that oversees Interior Department and EPA funding, said the short-term budget process makes agencies' work "extremely difficult" (E&E Daily, March 14).

"If I were a program manager," Moran said, "I don't know how I would cope with the situation."

Spokesmen from EPA, DOE and Interior declined to comment on how the CR has affected their agencies, currently or in the past. DOE spokeswoman Katinka Podmaniczkysaid in a statement that the department "continues to work with both sides on Capitol Hill to fund the government and keep its vital services and functions operating."

But a 2009 report from the Government Accountability Office provides some insight on how such uncertainty can limit management flexibility and increase employees' workload.

Denise Fantone, a GAO director of strategic issues who worked on the report, said her agency has not studied the current situation. But the report studied data from 1999-2009 to come to some conclusions about the overall effect of continuing resolutions on government operations.

Each agency is affected differently, Fantone said in a recent interview. Regulatory agencies, for example, may collect funding from nongovernment sources and thus feel the effects of a short-term CR less.

But CRs can affect contracts and hiring significantly. Short-term federal budgets can mean short-term agency planning with officials eventually compelled to quickly obligate any remaining funds at the end of a fiscal year. Employees might also have to issue contracts for shorter periods of time, repeating parts of the bidding process under each CR.

Such planning also affects hiring and training, Fantone said.

"Everything gets delayed and pushed back," she said. "You could hire at the end of the year, but that may be out of cycle with training cycle. ... There were certain opportunities that were missed."

EPA employees

John O'Grady, EPA Region 5 president of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Council 238, said EPA has limited travel expenditures to 42 percent of the annual budget, causing employees to miss out on training opportunities.

One employee, he said, told him she would be paying her own way to a free training opportunity because she could not get her travel budget approved in time.

"The impact of this budget mess is that employees either miss out on free training that is of benefit to the government or the employees who need the training have to pay for the travel out of their own pocket in order to get the training," O'Grady said.

"While the training is not immediately mandatory for the employee, it is needed if they employee wants to advance in her profession and be on a level playing field with co-workers who have already received the training."

O'Grady said the CR's effects also have trickled down to mundane supplies. After he was told the agency could not afford to buy an 8.5-by-11-inch spiral notebook for air-enforcement inspections, he bought one himself. A handful of file folders, meanwhile, took more than a month to obtain, he said.

The lack of firm deadlines has also put research projects, regulation implementation and contracted jobs on hold, he said.

But the threat of job loss is what mainly haunts employees, some of whom experienced the government shutdown 15 years ago. Agency officials have been silent on their plans for that possibility, much to employees' chagrin.

"I have been getting questions on if employees can take on another job if they are furloughed, will they still have medical, etc.," Guster said, who is EPA Region 2 president of AFGE 238. "This time could be spent on their program work."

Copyright 2011 E&E Publishing. All Rights Reserved.

MO Senator Roy Blunt on the EPA

Note: I do not support Senator Roy Blunt.  I provided his latest email to me because I think my Fellow Missourian's deserve to know how he stands on the Environmental Issues Facing our State and Nation. Besides his stand with the Big Oil and Big Coal Industry with his fellow Republicans. 

I believe and the facts from his previous Lobbying / Lobbyist Activities not to mention the Earmarks he supported creates conflicts of Interest-Scotty" 

• Mr Blunts past behavior of
1. Ear Marks,
2. reckless and wasteful spending habits,
3. Lobbying Activities create Conflict of Interest,
4. He is Part of the Reason that "Washington is Broken"
• Mr Blunt supports Big Business. (from:http://stlouisrenewableenergy.blogspot.com/2010/10/robin-carnahan-election-news-invitation.html)
  

Prior St Louis Renewable Energy Blog Posts in re to Roy Blunt:

• Roy Blunt-Political News-Worst of Washington Sep 19, 2010
• Re: Did Roy Blunt Hire an Illegal Worker? Oct 21, 2010
• Carnahan Election News-Message to Roy Blunt Oct 28, 2010
• A musing about Roy Blunt Oct 05, 2010
• Robin's Carnahan vs Roy Blunt Debate News Oct 14, 2010

Earmarks Data from Open Secrets (http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/otherdata.php?cid=N00005195&cycle=2010)

Roy Blunt sponsored or co-sponsored 22 earmarks totaling $22,602,000 in fiscal year 2010, ranking 188th out of 435 representatives. See details. To learn more about earmarks, visit our Earmarks section.

On Thu, Feb 10, 2011 at 3:17 PM, Senator Roy Blunt wrote:

 

 
Dear Scotts Contracting:
 

Thank you for your email on the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) regulation of greenhouse gases. 

The EPA's efforts to regulate greenhouse gas emissions are outside of the authority given to it by Congress.  It stretches the Clean Air Act to include emissions that the authors of the act never intended to regulate, and I will work to prevent the rule from being implemented and further harming our fragile economy. 

I am co-sponsoring the Defending America's Affordable Energy and Jobs Act (S. 228).  This bill restores Congress' role in the development and implementation of our nation's climate and energy policy by blocking backdoor attempts by regulatory agencies to regulate carbon emissions.

Environmental regulations, while important, should not place undue burdens on Missourians and all Americans, who depend on economically-priced energy on the job and at home.  Protecting our environment and jumpstarting our economy are not mutually exclusive goals. 

We can create better paying jobs at home by developing more American energy, relying on clean fuel alternatives, and promoting conservation.  I continue to support more reliance on alternative fuels and greater investment in research for our energy future. 

Again, thank you for contacting me.  I look forward to continuing our conversation on Facebook (www.facebook.com/SenatorBlunt) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/RoyBlunt) about the important issues facing Missouri and the country.  I also encourage you to visit my website (www.blunt.senate.gov) to learn more about where I stand on the issues and sign-up for my e-newsletter.

Sincere regards,

Roy Blunt
United States Senator

______________________________

Use the Following Link to -Find Your Elected Representatives-Republican or Democrat, and Let Your Voice BE HEARD! Active Participation is Suggested TellMyPolitician  

If your Elected Leaders do not know where you stand on the issues they will not be able to vote for the issues that are affecting: You, Your Family, Work, Health, and Educational Needs.   

--
Scott's Contracting
scottscontracting@gmail.com
http://stlouisrenewableenergy.blogspot.com
http://scottscontracting.wordpress.com

Republicans Ax the Budget $61 Million

The Proposed cuts sound good in theory while actually doing more harm than good. (Using Simple Math anyone can see)

Did the proposed cuts enacted by the House in the wee hours make any one else sick?  If your are not sick yet your Health may soon suffer. 

The newly elected Tea Party Republican Representatives lead the charge in Hand-Cuffing the EPA and their Pollution Control Measures.  The actions sound good in theory, but actually will create more harm than actual help.
   

Coal and Oil Industry backing- the House Republicans cut the only Regulating Agency the Fossil Fuel Industries are forced to conform to- The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency).

• The Republicans Claim: "The People have Spoken" "we are acting in their best interest."

 Who are they kidding?  Here are Dirty Coal Figures that contradict the proposed cuts and show the proposed cuts only benefit the Fossil Fuel Industry and Contribute the Harmful GHG Emissions that are causing- Climate Change and Global Warming.

• coal's costs in environmental and public health damage would triple the cost of coal-generated electricity ...best estimates of costs from coal's annual air pollution at $188 billion and costs from its contributions to global warming at $62 billion ($250 Billion Dollars Combined) (quote) 

Using Simple Math anyone can see: 

• $61 Billion Cut from Budget - $250 billion Coal Pollution Costs =  nets a negative-$189 Billion in Pollution Costs from Coal.

The Proposed cuts sound good in theory while actually doing more harm than good.  With Leadership like this it is no wonder why the US Budget is out of control.  When enacted programs net a negative numbers.  Who in their correct mind frame would continue to enact programs that do more harm than good?  Its not hard to figure out that steps should be made to correct the Actions to create a 

positive cash flow.

There are better ways to Balance an "Out of Control" Federal Spending Budget.

I suggest that future budget cuts should be made starting with the Politicians Salaries.

It seem that they want the Constituents to live on less-They should "Lead by Example" and cut their Salaries.

I think turn-a-round is fair play - Ax and Cut the Elected Leaders Salaries.  The majority of them are responsible for the mess we are in now anyway. Scotty 2/20/11

__________________

-Find Your Representatives-Republican or Democrat, and Let Your Voice BE HEARD! Active Participation is Suggested TellMyPolitician

I used to link and contacted: McCaskill, Carnahan, and Blunt- the elected officials for my area. 

___________________

House passes sweeping cuts to domestic programs

(AP) – 2/19/11WASHINGTON —
{emphasis added by Scotty}
Jolted to action by deficit-conscious newcomers, the Republican-controlled House passed sweeping legislation early Saturday to cut $61 billion

• from hundreds of federal programs and 
• shelter coal companies
• oil refiners and 
• farmers from new government regulations.

The 235-189 vote to send the bill to the Senate was largely along party lines and defied a veto threat from President Barack Obama. It marked the most striking victory to date for the 87-member class of freshmen Republicans elected last fall on a promise to attack the deficit and reduce the reach of government. Three Republicans joined Democrats in opposing the measure.

"The American people have spoken. They demand that Washington stop its out-of-control spending now, not some time in the future," declared freshman Rep. Tim Huelskamp, R-Kan.

The $1.2 trillion bill covers every Cabinet agency through the Sept. 30 end of the budget year, imposing severe spending cuts aimed at domestic programs and foreign aid, including aid for schools, nutrition programs, environmental protection, and heating and housing subsidies for the poor.

The measure faces a rough ride in the Democratic-controlled Senate, even before the GOP amendments adopted Thursday, Friday and early Saturday morning pushed the bill further and further to the right on health care and environmental policy. Senate Democrats promise higher spending levels and are poised to defend Obama's health care bill, environmental policies and new efforts to overhaul regulation of the financial services industry.

Changes rammed through the House on Friday and Saturday would shield greenhouse-gas polluters and privately owned colleges from federal regulators, block a plan to clean up the Chesapeake Bay, and bar the government from shutting down mountaintop mines it believes will cause too much water pollution, siding with business groups over environmental activists and federal regulators in almost every instance.

"This is like a Cliff Notes summary of every issue that the Republicans, the Chamber of Commerce, and the (free market) CATO Institute have pushed for 30 years," said Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass. "And they're just going to run them through here."

The gulf between the combatants ensures that difference on the measure won't be resolved soon, requiring a temporary spending bill when a current stopgap measure expires March 4. Senate Democrats and House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, are already maneuvering for political advantage in anticipation of talks on a short-term extension that will be needed.

Democrats say Boehner's insistence that any stopgap measure carry spending cuts amounts to an ultimatum that could threaten a government shutdown like the episodes that played to the advantage of former President Bill Clinton in his battles with Republicans in 1995-1996.

The Obama administration upped the ante on Friday, warning that workers who distribute Social Security benefits might be furloughed if the GOP cuts go through.
Across four long days of freewheeling debate, Republicans left their conservative stamp in other ways.

They took several swipes at the year-old health care law, including voting for a ban on federal funding for its implementation. At the behest of anti-abortion lawmakers, they called for an end to federal funding for Planned Parenthood.

Republicans awarded the Pentagon an increase of less than 2 percent increase, but domestic agencies would bear slashing cuts of about 12 percent. Such reductions would feel almost twice as deep since they would be spread over the final seven months of the budget year.

Republicans recoiled, however, from some of the most politically difficult cuts to grants to local police and fire departments, special education and economic development. Amtrak supporters easily repelled an attempt to slash its budget.

About the only victory scored by Obama during the week came on a vote Wednesday to cancel $450 million for a costly alternative engine for the Pentagon's next-generation F-35 warplane. It was a top priority of Defense Secretary Robert Gates and passed with the votes of many GOP conservatives who opposed the $3 billion program, more than half of the 87 Republican freshmen elected last fall on promises to cut the budget.

Democrats overwhelmingly oppose the measure and Obama has threatened a veto if it reaches his desk, citing sweeping cuts that he says would endanger the economic recovery.
"The bill will destroy 800,000 American jobs," said House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., citing a study by the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute. "It will increase class sizes and take teachers out of the classrooms ... It will jeopardize homeless veterans, make our communities less secure, threaten America's innovation."

The Environmental Protection Agency was singled out by Republicans eager to defend business and industry from numerous agency regulations they say threaten job-creation and the economy. The EPA's budget was slashed by almost one-third, and then its regulatory powers were handcuffed in a series of floor votes.

Proposed federal regulations would be blocked on emission of greenhouse gases, blamed for climate change, and a proposed regulation on mercury emissions from cement kilns would also be stopped. Additionally, the bill also calls for a halt to proposed regulations affecting Internet service providers and privately-owned colleges, victories for the industries that would be affected.

The 359-page bill was shaped beginning to end by the first-term Republicans, many of them elected with tea party backing.

They rejected an initial draft advanced by the leadership and produced by Rep. Hal Rogers, R-Ky., chairman of the Appropriations Committee, saying it did not cut deeply enough.

The revised bill added more reductions, and cut $100 billion from Obama's request for the current year, the amount Republicans had cited in their campaign-season Pledge to America.

But a tea party-backed amendment to slash $22 billion on top of the $60-billion-plus worth of steep cuts already made by the measure failed on Friday almost 2-1.

The heavily subsidized ethanol industry absorbed a pair of defeats Saturday at the hands of it many critics, including Rep. John Sullivan, R-Ohio, who won a vote to block the EPA from approving boosting the amount of ethanol in most gasoline to 15 percent.

On other regulatory issues, foes of the EPA won a 249-176 vote to block the agency from using its regulatory powers to curb greenhouse gases. EPA has already taken steps to regulate global warming pollution from vehicles and the largest factories and industrial plants and is expected to soon roll out rules that target refineries and power plants.

The move to stop the EPA from regulating greenhouse-gas polluters came from Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, who said his congressional district is home to more oil refineries than any other.

"We're in the midst of a massive economic downturn and the last thing we need to do is shoot ourselves in the foot with unnecessary, expensive new regulations that are on business and industry," he said.

Republicans also prevailed in more parochial issues, with Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., winning a close vote to block the government from removing hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River, while Robert Goodlatte, R-Va., won a 230-195 vote to block an EPA plan for cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay that would cut pollution from runoff from farms and municipalities throughout the Chesapeake watershed.

And Florida agricultural interests won a vote to block EPA rules issued last year aimed at controlling fertilizer and other pollutants that stoke the spread of algae in the state's waters.
On Thursday, the House voted to block regulations governing the emission of mercury from cement plants and to stop the Federal Communications Commission from enforcing proposed regulations opposed by Verizon and other large Internet Service Providers.

Copyright © 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Related articles

• US shutdown looms as budget war rages
  Telegraph.co.uk - 17 hours ago
• Freshmen spur GOP-run House on big spending cuts
  The Associated Press - 1 day ago
• Boehner "This was diving off the 50 foot diving board on your first dive."
  Fox News (blog) - 1 day ago
• More coverage (1) »

Add News to your Google Homepage