Guest Post by Ed Duffek, NorCal Tea Party, Truth in Science Committee
I attended the Legislative Committee meeting at the Capitol Building in Sacramento and witnessed the defeat of AB 1332. The historical facts below may put this action in perspective.
2006: the US Supreme Court in a 5-4 decision, instructed the US EPA to regulate carbon dioxide as an “air pollutant” under the Clean Air Act. Fortunately, the EPA was not ordered to do so directly nor was it given a deadline to act.
In like fashion, CA Gov. Schwarzenegger signed the Global Solutions Act of 2006 (AB32) into law, well before any EPA actions on CO2 that would follow.
Both the Court and the Governor ignored the benefits of CO2 , or even considered the very small amount of CO2 in the atmosphere (390 ppm) and the position of other government agencies.
For example:
- OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) sets maximum concentrations of CO2 at a TLV (Threshold Limit Value) of 5000 ppm.
- US Navy Submarine breathing air is set @ 8000 ppm CO2.
- Carbon dioxide is not usually considered toxic until oxygen level drops to 19.5%. This is equivalent to 14,000 ppm CO2.
2009: Under the direction of President Obama, the US EPA decreed CO2 to be toxic and an endangerment to all. No thought was given to any harmful effects on the US economy.
2010: AB32 was passed by CA Air Resources Board (CARB) in December. This entails draconian regulations, fees and penalties for truckers and other users of diesel fuel. It will also bring severe control of electric utilities in the near future.
2011: The US Supreme Court refused to consider a six-state lawsuit against several electric power utilities. The states’ claims stated that emissions of green house gases caused a “public nuisance,” global warming and climate change. The Court based its decision on the burden on judges to evaluate a complicated scientific matter.
Obviously, we all have a “carbon footprint” whether we admit it or not, however, there isn’t, and has never been, proof or scientific evidence that increasing CO2 causes global warming. Carbon dioxide is not a pollutant and has never been proven harmful to humans or to the atmosphere. California’s Democratic government and CARB refuse to accept these arguments and intend to make AB 32 fully effective in 2012.
These irresponsible actions of CARB and the CA government are already showing their harmful effects on our communities, notably Placer County. Have you noticed shuttered stores in our small towns, empty parking lots in shopping centers, large numbers of businesses that have left and continue to leave our state, and the thin automobile traffic on our freeways? Last but not least, the community of truckers that are the lifeline of our commerce is suffering greatly, and many hard-working drivers are now unemployed and/or bankrupt because of regulations, fines and the high cost of fuel.
CARB is at the root of all this. Is this what we expect from our elected officials?
