The Obama Administration plans to bypass Congress to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. According to Fox News, a top White House economic official warned Tuesday the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will not wait for Congress to pass legislation on climate change.

The official said that if Congress does not take action, "the EPA is going to have to regulate in this area. And it is not going to be able to regulate in a market-based way, so it's going to have to regulate in a command-and-control way." He explained that legislation would provide compensation for small businesses hit hard by new rules, which EPA action alone could not provide.

EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson confirmed the threat at the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen on Wednesday, saying regulators would frame new rules to complement cap-and-trade legislation pending in Congress. During her speech, she also bragged about the Obama Administration's new environmental policies. The New York Times quoted her saying, "In less than 11 months ... we have done more to promote clean energy and prevent climate change than happened in the last eight years." She highlighted the EPA's recent declaration that six greenhouse gases are a menace to public health and welfare, a move allowing the agency to tighten emissions restrictions on automobiles and industries.

The EPA's sudden increased power gives credence to Jackson's claims that the agency will be able to keep promises made at Copenhagen with or without Congressional approval.

House and Senate Republicans disagree and are planning a GOP delegation to Copenhagen to refute the Obama administration's totalitarian boasts. Fox News reports that Senators Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma, Roger Wicker of Mississippi, and John Barrasso of Wyoming will join U.S. Representatives Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, Jim Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin, Joe Barton of Texas, and Darrell Issa of California at the conference next week. They plan a press conference to remind Copenhagen delegates that the United States cannot make any binding emissions agreements without Congressional approval. They also plan to give voice to skeptical views of global warming during official meetings of the conference.

Already this week the U.S. negotiator at Copenhagen has denied developing nations' calls for climate-change reparations. Delegates from poor countries claim America owes a debt for supposed damage to their ecosystems, public health, and economies from greenhouse gas emissions. The New York Times reports that Todd Stern, the U.S. special envoy for climate change, scoffed at the idea during a press conference this week. "I actually completely reject the notion of a debt or reparations or anything of the like," he said. "For most of the 200 years since the Industrial Revolution, people were blissfully ignorant of the fact that emissions caused a greenhouse effect. It's a relatively recent phenomenon." Stern did, however, express plans to enact measures to cut emissions and to grant foreign aid to developing countries.

Photo of EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson

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Jack James said:

... I believe there should be a ban on carbon credit trading due to its high possibility for derivatives fraud. This is the kind of thing that got the world into the mess it’s in now! Also, there should be a ban on carbon derivatives trading due to its use by organized crime to launder funds from illegal activities. The regressive carbon taxation scheme will also be used to fund Muslim terrorists as many of the nations lining up for handouts are both Moslem and contain terrorists of one kind or another.

December 10, 2009 | url

Flu-Bird said:

Watermellon President Our watermellon president meaning GREEN on the OUTSIDE and RED on the INSIDE

December 11, 2009

Ivanhoe said:

The Three Box Theory We heard a lot of lies from Presidential candidates and now the President himself from the podiums (Box I). The ballot box elected the wrong guys (Box 2) That leaves the ammo box to bring us back to the Republic!

December 11, 2009

mickey said:

Marsha Blackburn Go Rebecca !!!! Great article!!! Marsha Blackburn Voted FOR: Omnibus Appropriations, Special Education, Global AIDS Initiative, Job Training, Unemployment Benefits, Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations, Agriculture Appropriations, U.S.-Singapore Trade, U.S.-Chile Trade, Supplemental Spending for Iraq & Afghanistan, Prescription Drug Benefit, Child Nutrition Programs, Surface Transportation, Job Training and Worker Services, Agriculture Appropriations, Foreign Aid, Vocational/Technical Training, Supplemental Appropriations, UN “Reforms.” Patriot Act Reauthorization, CAFTA, Katrina Hurricane-relief Appropriations, Head Start Funding, Line-item Rescission, Oman Trade Agreement, Military Tribunals, Electronic Surveillance, Head Start Funding, COPS Funding, Funding the REAL ID Act (National ID), Foreign Intelligence Surveillance, Thought Crimes “Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act, Peru Free Trade Agreement, Economic Stimulus, Farm Bill (Veto Override), Warrantless Searches, Employee Verification Program, Body Imaging Screening. Marsha Blackburn Voted AGAINST: Ban on UN Contributions, eliminate Millennium Challenge Account, WTO Withdrawal, UN Dues Decrease, Defunding the NAIS, Iran Military Operations defunding Iraq Troop Withdrawal, congress authorization of Iran Military Operations. Marsha Blackburn is my Congressman. See her unconstitutional votes at : http://tinyurl.com/qhayna Mickey

December 11, 2009

Outraged said:

Reparations Already Paid The United States has done more, bled more and paid more to poor, undeveloped, underprivaledged 3rd world nations than any other nation in the history of the world. The charity and military support we've given was because of a common goodness inherant in our culture. We were only able to do so because of our ingenuity and hard work. Now these ingrates demand us to pay. Demands for reparations should be repaid with threats to cut off all foriegn support of any kind. We'll see how the world handles it if we stop giving to charities which support the third world, if the congress stops appropriating funds to support our allies, stops militarily backing innocent nations like Georgia, and stops funding the UN entirely. The UN would become completely insignifican without U.S. money. Maybe the U.S. should start asking for reparations to be paid to the U.S. not from the U.S. Considering what we've given the world in the last 150 years it's not too much to ask.

December 11, 2009

JimboFranklin said:

?????????????? So... let me get this straight Outraged. Because a small fraction of your taxes have gone to aiding the countries we spend the rest to blow the [explicit] out of, you are in some way entitled to "reparations". That's completely laughable considering that none of that money was spent on long term aid. We basically flew a giant plane over, dropped a buncha mass farmed, processed crap, and flew away.

December 14, 2009 | url

Dick Jagger said:

... Outraged said: Reparations Already Paid The United States has done more, bled more and paid more to poor, undeveloped, underprivaledged 3rd world nations than any other nation in the history of the world. The charity and military support we've given was because of a common goodness inherant in our culture. We were only able to do so because of our ingenuity and hard work. Now these ingrates demand us to pay. Demands for reparations should be repaid with threats to cut off all foriegn support of any kind. We'll see how the world handles it if we stop giving to charities which support the third world, if the congress stops appropriating funds to support our allies, stops militarily backing innocent nations like Georgia, and stops funding the UN entirely. The UN would become completely insignifican without U.S. money. Maybe the U.S. should start asking for reparations to be paid to the U.S. not from the U.S. Considering what we've given the world in the last 150 years it's not too much to ask. Your delusion is blatant. It does keep you warm at night though.

December 29, 2009