Not
surprisingly, the right is not terribly happy about the new Obama plan to cut carbon
emissions.
While the plan might push up electric bills and cut profits in the short term,
estimated to cost $8.8 billion annually in 2030, the climate and health
benefits are estimated to between $55 and 93 billion in the same year. In other
words, even if you don’t believe in global warming (in other words, you are
insane), the plan will benefit the country both economically and ecologically –
while improving the quality of life of citizens in those areas most heavily
affected (like Kentucky and West Virginia). Of course, this didn’t stop
conservatives from apoplectic burst of fury, aimed at any attempt to, you know,
save the planet; or whatever. Here are some of the best (courtesy of Salon) …
Sen.
Jim Inhofe from Oklahoma claimed this was part of “a green agenda that has been
dreamed up by the environmentalist community for decades” before repeating the
lie that even the EPA admits that greenhouse gases “do not cause direct adverse
health effects.”
The
Koch brother-funded, fossil fuel supporting Heartland Institute claimed, “Lives
will be lost as people forgo heating and air conditioning in times of extreme
cold or heat. All this loss for naught.”
A group
called EPAFacts immediately ran a full-page ad in Politico Tuesday calling the EPA a “radical” organization that
threatens “to shut down 25 percent of the electric grid.”As ThinkProgress
points out EPAFacts.com, “is a site run by right-wing PR flack Rick Berman,
which is “dedicated to exposing the EPA’s ‘agenda-driven science.’” Its other
enlightened positions include the absurd claims that mercury pollution and smog
are not harmful, and sunlight hitting wind turbines can cause seizures.
Senate
Minority leader and persistent motley fool Mitch McConnell said in a press
release: “Today’s announcement is a dagger in the heart of the American middle
class.”
The
House Committee on Science, Space and Technology headed by climate change
denier Lamar Smith released the following statement: “Both the IPCC and the
White House’s documents appear to be designed to spread fear and alarm and
provide cover for previously determined government policies. The reports give
the Obama Administration an excuse to control more of the lives of the American
people. The IPCC’s goal is an international climate treaty that redistributes
wealth among nations. The Administration’s goal is to impose greenhouse gas
regulations, which will stifle economic growth and lead to hundreds of thousands
of fewer jobs each year.”
Hmm, it
appears fear and obstructionism have infected the Right once again. Hard to
believe they don’t have a plan themselves, isn’t it?
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