Hiccup! Former Obama EPA Chief admits she has turned to the bottle to cope as Trump guts climate regs

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/03/trump-obama-climate-regulations-236611
Ex-Obama team distressed as Trump guts climate regs
By ERIC WOLFF, ALEX GUILLÉN and ANNIE SNIDER 03/28/17 07:31 PM EDT
Hundreds of people in the Obama administration spent years building the climate change regulations that the president hoped would mark a lasting turning point in the nation’s response to global warming. But it took only a couple of months for President Donald Trump to start wiping them out.
 
That stunning course shift has left former Obama environmental officials and diplomats frustrated and upset — if not surprised.
“From the moment the election became clear, all of us had the months and years of work that we had done flash before our eyes,” said Christy Goldfuss, who served as former President Barack Obama’s top environmental adviser as the leader of the White House Council on Environmental Quality.
For Gina McCarthy, who led EPA when it issued its landmark greenhouse gas restrictions for power plants, it was no shock that Trump would seek to undo Obama’s climate regulations by using the same executive power that had gone into their creation. But she said she’s stunned at how fast Trump is moving.
“The approach they’re taking is really a slash-and-burn approach,” she told POLITICO.
“I really honestly don’t know what dragon they’re trying to slay here,” McCarthy added. “I really don’t. If they’re saying EPA has done something illegal, then let the courts decide that. If they think that EPA is anti-economy, then show me some data that shows that.”
McCarthy, who returned to her native Boston after the White House handover, admitted that she has turned to one of her city’s tried-and-true methods of coping with frustration: “We drink a lot of coffee during the day and other things at night. And night comes earlier and earlier.”

Trump Orders Overturn Of Climate Policies — Environmentalists Freak

Tue, March 28, 2017 6:17pm EDT by Samantha Wilson

Environmentalists are terrified after President Trump shockingly signed executive orders to overturn climate change policies put into place by Barack Obama. The order means the government won’t be dedicated to combating global warming, and people have a problem. Read their tweets!

President Donald Trump, 70, signed a sweeping executive order on March 28 at the Environmental Protection Agency that aims to limit the federal government’s involvement in fighting climate change. Instead, the Trump administration said that they’re putting creating American jobs first. Trump’s order directly overturns six climate change policies put into place by Former President Barack Obama, specifically a November 2013 executive order instructing the federal government to prepare the country for the impact of climate change, as well as a September 2016 memorandum that speaks to the “growing threat to national security” climate change poses.

Trump’s order calls for a review of the Clean Power Plan, allows coal mining on US federal lands and lets federal agencies “identify all regulations, all rules, all policies … that serve as obstacles and impediments to American energy independence.” Signing the order brings fears to the forefront about the Trump administration’s attitude toward climate change.

Donald Trump’s Weirdest Handshakes — See Pics

Trump has said multiple times that he doesn’t believe in climate change; in 2012 he tweeted “The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.”No, he really tweeted that! Environmentalists feared that his presidency would lead to destruction, and after the March 28 order, they expressed their concerns, and disbelief, on Twitter:

How can anyone refuse to accept that climate change is real? These people are motivated by GREED.

@AndreaChalupa Since climate change is a global issue, I think other nations should sue Trump for his steps towards destroying the planet.

Seems like a good time to remind everyone that human-made climate change is real and likely to be catastrophic.

Michael Moore: Human ‘Extinction’ Begins With Trump Reversing EPA Climate Regs

http://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/business/james-powers/2017/03/28/michael-moore-human-extinction-begins-trump-reversing-clean

By James Powers | March 28, 2017 | 4:25 PM EDT

Michael Moore is known for spewing outlandish, liberal drivel, but he turned apocalyptic as a reaction to the overthrow of former President Obama’s energy plan. (See tweet here.)

Moore: ‘Historians in the near future will mark today, March 28, 2017, as the day the extinction of human life on earth began, thanks 2 Donald Trump’

President Donald Trump signed an executive order into law March 28, to begin rolling back Obama’s Clean Power Plan. The plan included many regulations affecting domestic energy production.

The propagandist filmmaker immediately lashed out on Twitter condemning Trump’s actions.

According to the Associated Press, the executive order “will suspend, rescind or flag for review more than a half-dozen measures in an effort to boost domestic energy production in the form of fossil fuels.”

In the past, Moore attacked Trump and his followers and has said any person who votes for Donald Trump is a “legal terrorist.” In a rally near the White House on Jan. 19, Moore also told the crowd that the “terrorists are about three blocks away.”…

Executive Order promoting energy independence and economic growth — Full Text

http://www.cfact.org/2017/03/28/executive-order-promoting-energy-independence-and-economic-growth-full-text/

 

Presidential Executive Order on Promoting Energy Independence and Economic Growth

EXECUTIVE ORDER

– – – – – – –

PROMOTING ENERGY INDEPENDENCE AND ECONOMIC GROWTH

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1.  Policy.  (a)  It is in the national interest to promote clean and safe development of our Nation’s vast energy resources, while at the same time avoiding regulatory burdens that unnecessarily encumber energy production, constrain economic growth, and prevent job creation.  Moreover, the prudent development of these natural resources is essential to ensuring the Nation’s geopolitical security.

(b)  It is further in the national interest to ensure that the Nation’s electricity is affordable, reliable, safe, secure, and clean, and that it can be produced from coal, natural gas, nuclear material, flowing water, and other domestic sources, including renewable sources.

(c)  Accordingly, it is the policy of the United States that executive departments and agencies (agencies) immediately review existing regulations that potentially burden the development or use of domestically produced energy resources and appropriately suspend, revise, or rescind those that unduly burden the development of domestic energy resources beyond the degree necessary to protect the public interest or otherwise comply with the law.

(d)  It further is the policy of the United States that, to the extent permitted by law, all agencies should take appropriate actions to promote clean air and clean water for the American people, while also respecting the proper roles of the Congress and the States concerning these matters in our constitutional republic.

(e)  It is also the policy of the United States that necessary and appropriate environmental regulations comply with the law, are of greater benefit than cost, when permissible, achieve environmental improvements for the American people, and are developed through transparent processes that employ the best available peer-reviewed science and economics.

Sec. 2.  Immediate Review of All Agency Actions that Potentially Burden the Safe, Efficient Development of Domestic Energy Resources.  (a)  The heads of agencies shall review all existing regulations, orders, guidance documents, policies, and any other similar agency actions (collectively, agency actions) that potentially burden the development or use of domestically produced energy resources, with particular attention to oil, natural gas, coal, and nuclear energy resources.  Such review shall not include agency actions that are mandated by law, necessary for the

JOBS JOBS JOBS: Trump Signs E.O. Targeting Obama’s Climate Agenda – ‘It’s refreshing to have a new sheriff in town’

Sad: Exxon urges Trump to keep US in UN Paris climate accord

Via: https://www.ft.com/content/acf309b0-13b3-11e7-80f4-13e067d5072c?desktop=true&segmentId=d8d3e364-5197-20eb-17cf-2437841d178a

ExxonMobil Letter comes as White House seeks to unravel Obama greenhouse commitments

© Bloomberg

ExxonMobil, the largest American oil group, has written to the Trump administration urging it to keep the US in the Paris climate accordagreed at the end of 2015.

In a letter to President Donald Trump’s special assistant for international energy and the environment, Exxon argues that the Paris accord is “an effective framework for addressing the risks of climate change”.

The letter was sent last week, but has emerged as Mr Trump is preparing to announce executive orders beginning a rollback several of Barack Obama’s climate policies, while leaving the question of Paris open.

Trump administration officials have said a decision on participation in Paris is still “under discussion”, and have been soliciting views from US energy companies.

Exxon argues in its letter that there are several reasons for the US to stay in the Paris accord, including the opportunity to support greater use of natural gas, which creates lower carbon dioxide emissions than coal when burnt for power generation.

Several other large international oil companies, particularly in Europe, have also backed action to address climate change that could benefit them by boosting demand for gas.

Peter Trelenberg, Exxon’s manager for environmental policy and planning, writes in the letter: “It is prudent that the United States remain a party to the Paris agreement to ensure a level playing field, so that global energy markets remain as free and competitive as possible.”

He also argues the US is well-placed to be internationally competitive within the framework of Paris, thanks to its abundant natural gas reserves and its “innovative private industries, including the oil, gas and petrochemical sectors”.…

President Trump signs energy independence Executive Order — Full remarks

Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release

Remarks by President Trump at Signing of Executive Order to Create Energy Independence

Environmental Protection Agency Headquarters
Washington, D.C.

2:14 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  (Applause.)  Thank you very much.  I guess they like what we’re about to sign.  I knew they were going to like this one.  Well, thank you very much.  I very much appreciate it.  And thank you to our great Vice President, Mike Pence.

I’m thrilled that everybody could be here with us today.  I want to give special thanks to Administrator Scott Pruitt, Secretary Ryan Zinke, and Secretary Rick Perry for your remarks.  I told Rick, I said, run it the way you ran Texas — because this is going to be a great operation.  And he did a great job, and we’re honored to have all three.  And I’m really honored to have our Vice President, because Mike Pence has been outstanding.  Hasn’t he been outstanding?  (Applause.)

Together, this group is going to do a truly great job for our country.  We have a very, very impressive group here to celebrate the start of a new era in American energy and production and job creation.  The action I’m taking today will eliminate federal overreach, restore economic freedom, and allow our companies and our workers to thrive, compete, and succeed on a level playing field for the first time in a long time, fellas.  It’s been a long time.  I’m not just talking about eight years; we’re talking about a lot longer than eight years.  You people know it maybe better than anybody.

Thanks, as well, to the many distinguished members of Congress who have taken the time to be here.  I want to thank all of our industry leaders who are with us and who share our determination to create jobs in America, for Americans.  And, Shelley, thank you very much also.  I spotted you in the audience.  Thank you.

That is what this is all about:  bringing back our jobs, bringing back our dreams — and making America wealthy again.

I also want to thank the dedicated public servants who are with us this afternoon.  You’re doing important work to protect our health and public resources.  So important.

Finally, I want to acknowledge the truly amazing people behind me

Cheers! Trump rescinds Obama-era climate rules with energy independence order

Keeping another campaign pledge, President #Donald Trump signed the Energy Independence #executive order today that rescinds, reviews, or freezes nearly half a dozen Obama-era rules. The order’s primary goal is to boost domestic energy production related to oil, natural gas, and coal while removing massive regulatory roadblocks. That, Trump remarked, will grow our economy, bring back jobs, and create an energy revolution.

In various interviews, the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt said President Trump was setting a new course that was both pro-jobs and pro-environment. Pruitt noted for far too long, the EPA has been picking certain industries to win while placing other sectors into the crosshairs of the agency’s regulatory guns. He said that was no longer going to happen.

One rule that’s getting scrutiny is the EPA’s Clean Power Plan, which placed strict limits on carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from power plants. The Executive Order (EO) initiates a review of the Clean Power Plan (CPP), which has been under ongoing legal challenges from both states and industry. Trump had campaigned the rules were killing American manufacturing jobs by giving other countries an unfair advantage.

Trump takes biggest swing yet at Obama climate legacy

Warmists outraged: ‘In ultimate insult, Trump to sign climate rollback order at the EPA’