Owing to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations on emissions, American Electric Power (AEP) has said that it will close a series of coal-fired plants, including some in Southwest Virginia. The EPA says it’s acting well within its authority and aims to reduce “’… harmful air pollution, including mercury, arsenic and other toxic pollution, and as a result protect our families, particularly children.’”
Because at root, every government action is about protecting someone, and if a specific someone can’t be found, “the children” will suffice.
But let’s put some of the EPA’s actions into perspective.
AEP says it will “…need to retire 6,000 megawatts of coal-fired power generation in the coming years” to comply with the new EPA regulations. The company says it will cost jobs (about 600) and electricity users (their bills will rise 10-35 percent).
Those are big numbers for Virginia’s coal producing areas, but the more interesting number is the 6,000 megawatts the company will have to pull off-line. Earlier this year, Nigeria – a nation of 151 million people – set a record for electric power generation…of 4,000 megawatts. By 2015, Nigeria hopes to be generating 20,000 megawatts.
Maybe the Nigerian government can pick up AEP’s cast-offs to reach its goal.
But the EPA’s regulatory reach pales in comparison to the more grandiose dreams of some global warming true believers.
An editorial writer in “Nature Climate Change” is pinning his hopes on some brave soul taking global warming to the courtroom, where, quite possibly, billions of people could be sued for “…legal breach of their duty of care to the climate.”
Now there’s a happy thought. The author admits this approach would be exceedingly difficult, if not impossible.
But AEP is already fighting a legal battle over global warming. The U.S. Supreme court heard the case in April. Even the Obama administration is against the idea, as it marshaled its legal forces on the side of the power companies. And during oral arguments, the Justices seemed to indicate they preferred all this be decided by the EPA, rather than courts.
Not that an adverse ruling will stop the global warming crusaders:
Should the Supreme Court side with the power companies, states and environmental advocates will press ahead with claims under state law, said David Doniger, a lawyer at the Natural Resources Defense Council, which is representing the three land trusts. He said global warming is “eating away at the coastal property” and “destroying our snow packs.”
I suggest Mr. Doniger is being too modest. Global warmists have blamed just about everything on increased carbon dioxide…from changes in the tectonic plates to an increase in witch burnings.
So the EPA regulations forcing AEP to close a few plants could be seen as a bit insignificant compared to what might happen if we allow carbon dioxide to run amok. Good news if you’re accused of witchcraft in Tanzania, but not so good news if you want to turn on your lights in Lagos. Or the Clinch River Valley.
