2 May 2014

In the News
Carbon Emissions Rule: New Way to Skin the CatOr Same Old, Same Old?
Marlo Lewis, GlobalWarming.org, 1 May 2014
Peak Oil Theory Runs Out of Gas
Editorial, Tyler Morning News, 1 May 2014
Congress May Override President on Keystone XL
Byron York, Washington Examiner, 1 May 2014
Rolling Blackouts from EPAs Utility MACT? FERC Commissioner Says a Possibility
William Yeatman, Master Resource, 30 April 2014
Smithsonian Scare Stories
James Delingpole, Breitbart London, 30 April 2014
While Democrats Fundraise off Keystone Delay, Americans Lay 10,000 Miles of Pipeline
Chris Prandoni, Forbes, 30 April 2014
With Keystone Delay, U.S. Is the Only Loser
Diana Furchtgott-Roth, Real Clear Markets, 29 April 2014
Sen. Jim Inhofe: EPA Slow-Walking Carbon Rule To Protect Democrats
Zack Colman, Washington Examiner, 29 April 2014
IPCC TAR and the Hockey Stick
Judith Curry, Climate Etc., 29 April 2014
Skeptical Global Warming Arguments That Dont Hold Water
Roy Spencer, DrRoySpencer.com, 25 April 2014
News You Can Use
EPA Model + OMB Assumptions = Negative Social Cost of
Carbon
According to an analysis by the Heritage Foundations David Kreutzer & Kevin Dayaratna, the
current social cost of carbon is negative using EPAs preferred economic model and federal
modeling guidelines established by the Office of Management & Budget for federal economic
modeling. This research, which is based on EPAs model & OMB assumptions, suggests the
Obama administration should subsidize the combustion of hydrocarbon energy sources.
Inside the Beltway
Myron Ebell
National Climate Assessment To Be Released Next Week
The final draft of the third National Climate Assessment is scheduled to be approved by the
interagency committee overseeing its production on Tuesday, 6th May. The assessment, fact
sheets, and other background information may be found on the U. S. Global Change Research
Program web site.
The Competitive Enterprise Institute filed suit in federal court in 2000 to block release of the first
National Assessment on the Impacts of Climate Change on the grounds that its preparation had
not complied with the Federal Administrative Procedures Act. CEI then filed another suit to
block its dissemination on the grounds that it did not meet the minimal requirements of the
federal Information Quality Act. That suit was settled when the Department of Justice agreed to
affix a warning on the assessments home page that it had not been subjected to Information
Quality Act guidelines. We shall examine the third assessment for similar shortcomings, and
there will no doubt be a number of scientists examining it for scientific shortcomings.
Senate Inches Toward Kesytone Vote
The Senate has spent much of the week negotiating behind closed doors on bringing the
Shaheen-Portman energy efficiency bill to the floor and whether it will include a vote on
permitting the Keystone XL Pipeline immediately. It now appears likely that Senate Majority
Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) will bring S. 2262, the energy efficiency bill introduced last year by
Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio), to the floor next week and will
allow a vote on a separate Keystone bill. Most analysts think that Keystone has 56 or 57 of the
60 votes needed to invoke cloture and move to a vote on final passage.
Administrator McCarthy Claims Science Is EPAs North
Star
EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy gave a major speech at the National Academy of Science on
Monday, 28th April in which she attacked those who question the EPAs use of science.
She began by making some bold claims:
In everything we doEPA relies on transparency, on rigorous peer review, and on
robust, meaningful public comment. The expert advice we get from our independent
Science Advisory Board is a perfect example of that.
Every one of these statements needs to be severely qualified to get within shouting distance of
the truth. Next McCarthy dismissed the extremely well-documented refusal of the EPA to share
the data and methodology of the studies upon which their most outlandish health claims are
made for Clean Air Act regulation of fine particulate matter:
With science as our North StarEPA has steered America away from health risks, and
toward healthier communities and a higher overall quality of life. Thats why its
worrisome that our science seems to be under constant assault by a smallbut vocal
group of critics. Those critics conjure up claims of EPA secret science but its not
really about EPA science or secrets. Its about challenging the credibility of world
renowned scientists and institutions like Harvard University and the American Cancer
Society. Its about claiming that research is secret if researchers protect confidential
personal health data from those who are not qualified to analyze itand wont agree to
protect it. If EPA is being accused of secret science because we rely on real scientists
to conduct research, and independent scientists to peer review it, and scientists whove
spent a lifetime studying the science to reproduce it then so be it!
While serving as assistant administrator for air and radiation in the first Obama term, McCarthy
promised Congress that she would turn over the data from these two studies. She made a
similar promise during her Senate confirmation hearing last summer to Senator David Vitter (R-
La.), ranking Republican on the Environment and Public Works Committee. Yet, McCarthy and
the agency she heads continue to break their promises and defy the law. McCarthy then
warned:
Those critics are playing a dangerous game by discrediting the sound science our
families and our businesses depend on every day. I bet when those same critics get
sick, they run to doctors and hospitals that rely on science fromguess whoHarvard
and the American Cancer Society.
There is much more in McCarthys disgraceful speech that is outrageously false, including
ridiculous claims of the economic benefits of EPA regulations. An inescapable inference from
her claims is that a chief reason the economies of California and New York, to take only two
examples, are lagging Texas is that they just dont have enough environmental regulations. The
whole speech may be read here.
Across the States
Myron Ebell
Supreme Court Upholds EPAs Interstate Pollution Rule
The Supreme Court on Monday, 28th April upheld the EPAs 2011 Cross-State Air Pollution
Rule. My CEI colleague William Yeatman explains the conflicting DC Circuit Court decisions
over fifteen years that were finally, if not well, resolved by the Supreme Courts 6 to 2 decision in
a post on www.GlobalWarming.org.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote the majority opinion and was joined by Chief Justice Roberts
and Justices Breyer, Kagan, Kennedy, and Sotomayor. Justice Antonin Scalia wrote a
dissenting opinion that Justice Thomas also signed. Justice Alito recused himself from the
case.
The courts decision taken together with the DC Circuit Court of Appeals decision on 16th April
to uphold the Utility MACT rule does not bode well for other appeals of immensely costly Clean
Air Act regulations on the grounds that the costs have not been adequately considered in the
rulemaking process.
Around the World
Marlo Lewis
Global Study: Economic Freedom Leads to Healthier Air
A new study by the Fraser Institute in Canada finds that economic freedom is an important
cause of air quality improvement.
The study compares average airborne concentrations of particulate matter and economic
freedom in 105 countries around the world. The authors, Joel Wood and Ian Herzog, find that in
2010, the 20 countries that were most economically free had average concentrations
of particulate matter that were nearly 40% lower than the 20 least-free countries.