remember, tuesday is soylent green day (extremely late tuesday edition)
There still isn't a comprehensive plan to regulate Soylent Green, and we know it endangers public health! Because it's made of people!
MSNBC:
WASHINGTON - President Bush did not win over any converts to his energy strategy, with Democratic lawmakers and environmental groups calling his announcement on fuel economy and greenhouse gases as more stalling.
Prodded by a recent Supreme Court ruling, Bush said Monday his administration will decide how to regulate carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases from new motor vehicles by the time he leaves office.
Bush signed an executive order directing federal agencies to craft regulations that will "cut gasoline consumption and greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles." He ordered the agencies — the departments of Transportation, Agriculture and Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency — to have the rules in place by the end of 2008.
The Supreme Court in April changed the landscape in a landmark 5-4 ruling that found the EPA must reconsider its 2003 refusal to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from new cars and trucks. The court said the EPA must regulate carbon dioxide if it finds that it endangers public health.
"The president has responded to the Supreme Court's landmark decision by calling on EPA ... to move forward and take the first regulatory step to craft a proposal to control greenhouse gas emissions from new motor vehicles," EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson told reporters.
Johnson said a draft proposal should be ready by fall, and that it will include a finding on whether carbon dioxide is a health threat. He suggested there could be no regulation if no threat is found, or if the agency determines there is "some other reason and rational explanation for why it was not necessary to regulate."
But the 2008 timeframe led critics to accuse Bush of stalling.
"The president asked his agency heads to share ideas and come up with a plan that is due three weeks before he leaves office," said Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass.
Environmental groups said the administration's plan lacks any clear commitment to act.
"They haven't promised anything specific here — just trust us," said David Doniger, an attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Council. "There is nothing to rely on here."
[snip]
White House press secretary Tony Snow said the president's position opposing mandatory emissions caps has not changed. While recognizing that greenhouse gases are a serious contributor to climate change, Bush has said that anything other than a voluntary approach would unduly harm the nation's economy.
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