Coming off eight years in which the Bush Administration carefully censored government research about climate change, many folks might have hoped that with Democrats in charge real science would be brought to the fore in debates about energy policy. Regrettably they’re getting off to a bad start, as evidenced by a little-reported provision in the massive energy bill that passed the House of Representatives last month.
The issue at question is corn ethanol. Alert readers may recall that the 2007 energy bill required 15 billions gallons of corn ethanol to be used in America’s cars. This provision is quite good for big agribusiness, but there’s substantial research showing that it’s bad for the climate. Among other things, emissions from indirect land use will increase as more land is cleared for growing corn. That’s what the EPA found last spring.
The details are that the EPA cannot mention the data about indirect emissions in determining allocations of biofuels for five years. Further research on the topic will be ongoing during that time, but at the end of five years the policy can only be changed if the Ag Secretary approves. That Ag Secretary (assuming Obama wins in 2012) is Tom Vilsack, who like most Iowa politicians has a very snug relationship with farmers, so you can bet he won’t allow any action that reduces ethanol usage.
So in short, some corporations found scientific facts inconvenient, so they called up their lobbyists, the lobbyists called up their Representatives, and the facts were deleted. Obviously it’s not as bad as the Bush Administration’s approach, but it’s still pretty bad.
You’re quite right - just because the Republicans are quite vocal in their opposition to science doesn’t mean the Democrats aren’t also inclined to ignore or suppress science.
This corn ethanol crap - plus the associated far too high tariff on Brazilian sugarcane ethanol, is a prime example of how our elected officials don’t like to take science seriously.
I agree that it’s pretty depressing. The problem was that the bill had to go through the Agriculture Committee before it could get to the House floor, and the Ag Committee, unsurprisingly, is stocked with corn-state politicians. And hence we get all sorts of giveaways to corn interests.
Its unfortunate that business connections and backroom deals contribute to the running of our government and the setting of policy, but that is unavoidable. However, I take far more comfort knowing that its simply the act of special interests and helping out different people influencing policy than the ignorant rantings of creationists. I would much rather that science gets omitted because it may harm a potential group than if people simply didnt believe it in the first place
Laying this at the doorstep of “House Democrats” is misleading. From what I understand, the effort to keep the EPA in the business of calculating the indirect greenhouse emissions survived an earlier committee vote by something like 30-29. And you know all the Pubbies on the committee voted against it.
So what you’ve got is the House Republicans, plus a number of Blue Dog Dems, banning science in the climate bill. A heavy majority of Dems were against that ban, but you need a majority of the House, not just a majority of your own caucus.
Yes it is. And it’s also why you should be skeptical of big government programs. Ethanol mandates started out as a program pushed by the environmental movement, and wound up completely captured by big business and used to their own ends. In the meantime, the original activists moved on to other pressing issues, leaving the unholy alliance of government and business to cut further deals in the back room.
The same thing just happened with cap and trade. Originally pushed by the environmental movement, it’s turned into a giant giveaway to big business and a tool for them to use to shut new competitors out of their markets. It won’t do anything for CO2 emissions, and it will hurt a lot of businesses that aren’t well enough connected to get special deals cut in the legislation.
The same thing happened with the Department of Education. Ostensibly set up to help children be educated, it’s turned into a system that primarily benefits the teacher’s union, which spends huge sums of money lobbying Congress.
Wait until you see what happens with the healthcare bill.
Big business can do so much damage, but the damage that big business can do in partnership with the government is certainly beyond this loony lefty’s imagination. We have seen an inkling of it in the financial meltdown, in the Medicare Part D boondoggle, etc.
Big business is here to stay, and to be fair, they do contribute mightily to the prosperity of the country and the world. Whenever they get into partnerships with big government, the damage they can do is staggering. The logic is simple, when A and B get together to spend money they will get from C, D, E, F and their descendants, their appetite for spending gets a bit out of control.
Exactly. It’s good to be skeptical of big business, and it’s good to be skeptical of big government. What you should really be skeptical about is the alliance of big business and big government. Because then you marry big business’s desire to control markets with big government’s mandate on the use of force.
The thread title is disingenuous. Much, if not most, of the opposition to EPA regulation of greenhouse gas emissions from biofuels has come from Republicans.
A filibuster-proof majority in the Senate, firm control of the House, a Dem in the White House, and it still is the Republican’s fault. Can’t those fucking Democrats do anything?
No, my argument is that, although the Democrats have a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate, firm control of the House, and a Dem in the White House, their failures are still being blamed on Republicans. It was addressed to those who read for comprehension. YMMV.
Well, Shodan, the GOP has not earned the title of ‘The Party of NO’ for nothing.
The majority is fairly slim in both houses when you take into account that the Blue Dogs cannot be counted on to resist being seduced by the stupidity of their right wing leanings, even when they are further to the left then their GOP counterparts. So, really, the blame falls not on Republicans but more on stupid conservatives in both parties.
Apparently they earned it because the Democrats passed legislation.
Because, apparently, a super-majority of Democrats are helpless in the face of the fiendish Republicans. Obama can’t possibly veto it - the secret Republican mind rays are penetrating his tin-foil hat, or something.
Those Republicans - they’re worse than the Illuminati.
Senate rules allow one Senator to filibuster a bill and 60 to override it. How long has Franken been a Senator?
And given such a slim majority, if even one Dem defects, which they sometimes do, the filibuster successful. Plus, Kennedy and Byrd are both out on medical leave.
The problem, and I think any fair-minded person knows this, is that the Reps have taken to filibustering and stonewalling EVERYTHING. If even one minor bill has one thing they dont like, they’ll filibuster or hold it up. It is absolutely the fucking Republicans fault if they make every single bill’s passage requires every single Dem and the 2 independents to vote along the party line. Hey, guess what? Not every senator shows up for every vote either! So yeah, the supermajority is there, but I’ve yet to see a bill pass the Senate this year with 59 (no Franken until a week ago) Dem and Independent votes and 39 (no Coleman) Reps dissenting
The problem with your party is that you guys dont know the meaning of the word compromise. From what conservatives I’ve talked to and read about, it seems you people think compromising is a sign of weakness and a betrayal. Thats the problem with you guys: you take everything as a life or death, black and white, no ambiguity struggle to such an extreme. Republicans are absolutely overqualified to be the party of NO because they dont seem to have it in their hearts to give anything up (see 0 House votes for Obama’s stimulus).
A suggestion I have for the Reps is this: Be less dickish. If you got input on a bill, and the alternative is no change from the status quo, then vote for it. Its the best you’re gonna get. You cannot hold out any longer for the perfect conservative bill because its not going to happen in the next 8 years.