November 15, 2014

Government can’t grow the economy.  But, the Obama administration has shown it knows how to slow it down.  The EPA is pushing new regulations that will kill more jobs and raise our utility prices throughout America.  All in the name of setting a “good example” for the world.  A big example that ignores the fact that the countries who emit the largest amount of carbon, like China and India, have no intention of following suit.  This American leader just does not understand how the world works.

So not only will Obama’s regulations increase energy prices, they will also put us at a competitive disadvantage against other economies.  How does that help America? It doesn’t – any fool knows that!   We are going to pay a terrible price for the unilateral executive actions this President is taking on our energy.  We have got to stop Obama’s job-killing overreach.  The idea that we must destroy our economy by raising utility prices for Americans so the world will follow is naive.  Countries like China and India are going to continue to grow their economy and watch as Obama suffocates our’s with regulations and no Keystone Pipeline.  It is time the American people let your Congress person know that you want Obama stopped –  close the check book and lock the bank.

He promised that he would establish a new fund ($2 billion) for environmental purposes just today.  As his world turns – it’s a billion here, two billion there, and three billion everywhere – that is the way it is with someone who has  no value of money like him.

November 14, 2014

Re:  President Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Obama has announced what he calls “an historic agreement” in a climate change deal with China. In his commitment to reduce carbon emissions 26 percent to 28 percent below 2005 levels, the president is committing Americans to higher energy prices, a weaker economy and a lost competitive advantage.  We make changes now – they wait until 2030? Wow, this leader really knows how make a deal – looks like they made an offer he didn’t refuse.  Sure wouldn’t want to take Obama to Vegas!

China’s commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is akin to a pledge from a broke, addicted gambler to his bookie to pay later. China is telling the United States to make the economic sacrifices and restrict its energy use now, and China will start reducing its emissions beginning in 2030. A few thoughts on why this is a raw deal for both countries:

•China’s gross domestic product per capita has increased from a little more than $300 in 1990 to almost $7,000 today (which still isn’t that much). The use of carbon-emitting conventional fuels has been a staple in such rapidly accelerating growth. Despite the claim that China will peak its carbon dioxide emissions more than a decade and a half from now, there’s no proof China will have a true inclination then to curb economic growth to restrict climate emissions.
•China’s lack of intent to tackle true environmental problems should be a red flag to this commitment. For instance, consider the black carbon soot problem from burning coal that China won’t tackle. If China won’t even continually use scrubbers to handle the soot problem because of the restraints it would impose on industrial productivity, despite the direct adverse health impacts, why should it be trusted to reduce a nontoxic, colorless, odorless gas?
•Where’s India’s seat at the table? By the time China peaks its carbon emissions output, India likely will have overtaken China as the most populous country. Even if climate change were a problem, China’s commitment would still have only a marginal impact on global temperatures.
•China and India have hundreds of millions without access to electricity. The commitment and pressing issue for these developing economies should be to give their people a better standard of living, not reduce carbon emissions.
•Economic growth and affordable, reliable energy are a priority for the people living in China, but action on climate change is simply not. The United Nations’ “My World” survey has more than 5.18 million votes submitted from nearly every country and territory around the world. Individuals are presented with 16 issues and asked to select the six that “are most important for you and your family.” Dead last among the choices was “action taken on climate change.” Action taken on climate change also was least important to individuals in the least developed countries. Much higher (fourth) was reliable energy at home.
•Plenty of valid reasons exist for why action on climate change ranks at the bottom. Climate models used by the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and others predicted accelerated rates of global warming. But the conditions scientists have actually observed don’t match up with those predictions. Even as carbon dioxide emissions around the world have increased, average global temperatures have plateaued for the past 18 years. The climate is changing, as it always has, but the risks are proving to be exaggerated, the models flawed and the excessive regulations to restrict energy use will come with significant costs and insignificant environmental impact.

As China commits to carbon emission reductions far into the future, the Obama administration is unilaterally imposing regulations that will drive up energy bills for American families and businesses today.

Along with the federal government’s war on coal, Obama is planning to use more executive orders to regulate aspects of the economy and limit individual choice under the pretense of addressing climate change. It’s far past time for our elected officials to stand up and prevent the federal government from implementing these economy-squeezing regulations.

We must not forget, he is looking out for the American people!

kommonsentsjane