White House directs federal agencies to consider ‘climate change’

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-climatechange-regulations-idUSKCN10D24T

U.S. federal agencies should disclose whether their actions and decisions will have an impact on climate change, the White House announced on Tuesday.

The White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) finalized an update after nearly six years of consultations of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), a Nixon-era statute that called on officials to weigh the environmental effects of projects such as highways, dams or oil drilling.

The update takes NEPA a step further by requiring agencies such as the Interior Department to the Army Corps of Engineers to quantify greenhouse gas emissions in NEPA project reviews and to describe the potential climate change impacts.

“This increased predictability and certainty will allow decision makers and the public to more fully understand the potential climate impacts of all proposed federal actions,” the CEQ said in a statement.

This would prompt agencies to consider alternatives or propose measures to mitigate the climate impacts of a project, it said.…

Democrat AGs, Green Groups Defy Demand for Documents

http://dailysignal.com/2016/08/02/democrat-ags-green-groups-defy-subpoena-on-coordinated-climate-efforts/

Environmental activists and state government officials, declining to comply with subpoenas by House Republicans probing their “coordinated efforts” to punish climate change skeptics, face additional scrutiny as part of the congressional investigation.

The deadline for New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, and eight environmental organizations to comply with subpoenas from the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology came and went July 27 without their producing requested documents.

So what now?

Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, chairman of the House committee, said “noncompliance only raises additional questions.”

Philippines Rejects Western Imperialism on Climate Policy

http://dailysignal.com/2016/08/02/philippines-wisely-rejects-western-imperialism-on-climate-policy/

The new Philippine president, Rodrigo Duterte, may not be rooting for warming like we are, but his repudiation last month of the Paris climate treaty is particularly inconvenient for those pushing an activist policy agenda.

The fundamental truth is that every nation should reject economically unsound policy initiatives that harm their citizens and are devoid of any meaningful climate benefit, regardless of mainstream climate change projections.…

Climate wanted for murder!? Maryland state senator asks: ‘Did climate change kill two people in Ellicott City?’

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/politics/blog/bal-lawmaker-did-climate-change-kill-two-people-in-ellicott-city-20160801-story.html

Lawmaker: ‘Did climate change kill two people in Ellicott City?’

Erin Cox

Contact ReporterThe Baltimore Sun

Maryland state senator asks: “Did climate change kill two people in Ellicott City?”

A state lawmaker suggested Monday that climate change could be to blame for the flash-flood that killed two people and destroyed much of historic Ellicott City Saturday night.

“The deaths and damage caused by this weekend’s flash flood in Ellicott City, as well as the damage caused elsewhere, reminds us that climate change is about more than polar bears and the rising sea level in the Chesapeake Bay,” said Sen. James Rosapepe, co-chair of a key environmental subcommittee in the Maryland Senate.

He asked: “Did climate change kill two people in Ellicott City this weekend?”

Rosapepe, a Democrat, said Maryland is ill-prepared to prevent flash-flooding largely because much of its climate change planning focuses on rising sea levels.

He raised that possibility that the once-in-a-thousand-year flooding this weekend was linked to rising global temperatures.   

“It would be very naive if we did not see this as part of climate change,” Rosapepe said in an interview. “Those of us who live upland are really impacted by climate change, and this is the perfect example.”

Rosapepe acknowledged science could not prove climate change caused particular flash-flood, but he said the increased frequency of flash-flooding in general is due to climate change and said that is an ongoing public safety problem for the entire state.

“It’s a little bit like terrorism, in that we don’t know what nut-job is going to shoot someone else. But we do know that there are nut-jobs out there that are likely to shoot someone,” he said. “So we have to prepare ourselves.”…

Obama to make it tougher to build roads, bridges – all in thevname of ‘climate change’

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/aug/2/obama-make-it-tougher-build-roads-bridges-name-cli/

Building that bridge or expanding that highway just became more difficult under a rigorous standard issued Tuesday by the Obama administration that will make it easier to block a wide range of projects in the name of climate change.

The final guidance broadens the National Environmental Policy Act by requiring agencies to quantify the impact of activities that require federal permits not just on the environment but also on “projected direct and indirect GHG [greenhouse gas] emissions.”…