House Republicans today introduced their alternative energy plan. Developed by the Republican American Energy Solutions Group, the American Energy Act is billed as an “all of the above” energy program. But as The Wonk Room’s Brad Johnson notes, the legislation looks more like an attempt to legislate the threat of global warming “out of existence.” Indeed, the bill specifically states that at no point in implementing their energy plan can the effects of global warming on the environment “be considered for any purpose”:

Johnson remarks, “The Republican response to our dependence on fossil fuels and their pollution is to give billions of dollars in new tax breaks and subsidies to the oil, coal, and nuclear industries.”
winds blowing less, oceans f ucked up, birds appearing and nesting in places they haven’t in the past… Were’s pete? I think I will let him handle this. Besides I don’t think Obamawipe$ likes me anymore…
June 10th, 2009 at 6:12 pmThis is progress: they aren’t denying the existence of Greenhouse Gases.
Now, what about the impact of greenhouse gas on humans and humankind? Obviously a loophole. And, wouldn’t an impacted fish or wildlife or plant have an impact on man as well?
I think so.
June 10th, 2009 at 6:19 pmThis like living in a burning house and you are not allowed to call the fire department.
June 10th, 2009 at 6:20 pmWhy stop there? How about a clause that says “The effects of turning America into a Mordor-like hellhole shall not be considered when dumping tailings, the parts of mountaintops that aren’t coal, oil and fossil-fuel byproducts or nuclear waste. Because making us clean this crap up would be a hidden tax on industry.”
June 10th, 2009 at 6:21 pmHouse GOP energy plan declares that impact of global warming ‘shall not be considered for any purpose.’
– - There, solved the global warming issue. Next…
June 10th, 2009 at 6:22 pmThis is nothing short of a declaration of war on planet Earth and all of her inhabitants. We have been warned!
June 10th, 2009 at 6:22 pm“Nothing to see here” hardly constitutes a plan.
June 10th, 2009 at 6:24 pmGood thing they’ve been castrated by low numbers. They’ve become an anachronism. A greedy one. We can’t afford their greed anymore.
June 10th, 2009 at 6:24 pmThey are LOSERS, determined to keep LOSING!
June 10th, 2009 at 6:25 pmEnjoy the sandwich, GOP!
Call it what it is…the
June 10th, 2009 at 6:26 pmrepublicanCorporate Party.Hmm. These GOP comments and notions about global warming are proof positive of Evolution: this shows that the Republican Party is going extinct at an unusually fast rate. The GOP dinosaurs of the 21st century will soon just be an unpleasant memory…
June 10th, 2009 at 6:27 pmProving once again that absolutely nothing is too low and underhanded for these slimey bastards. I wish it was the day after election day 2010 so they were even further in the minority.
June 10th, 2009 at 6:27 pm“(C) Value of the transcendental number PI.—No calculations in this Act shall be considered to have the effect of altering the value of PI from 3.”
June 10th, 2009 at 6:31 pmI think these guys should be prosecuted for criminal negligence.
June 10th, 2009 at 6:43 pmFrom the article above:
“House Republicans today introduced their alternative energy plan.”
Both are DOA.
June 10th, 2009 at 6:45 pmyou can round-file that bad-boy, fellas
nobody cares what it says.
June 10th, 2009 at 6:51 pmFindings
1. Projected climate change poses a serious threat to America’s national security.
2. Climate change acts increases the potential instability in some of the most volatile regions of the world.
3. Projected climate change will boost tensions even in stable regions.
4. Climate change, national security and energy dependence are a related set of global challenges.
Recommendations
1. Climate change should be integrated into national security and national defense strategies.
2. The United States should vow to help stabilize climate changes at levels that will avoid significant disruption to global security and stability.
3. The United States should commit to global partnerships that help less-developed nations better manage climate impacts.
4. The Department of Defense should speed adoption of improved business processes and innovative technologies that boost U.S. combat power through energy efficiency.
5. The Pentagon should assess the impact on U.S. military installations worldwide of rising sea levels, extreme weather events, and other possible climate change impacts over the next 30 to 40 years.
Source: National Security and the Threat of Climate Change
June 10th, 2009 at 6:54 pmHow in the world do these cretins get elected?
Oh, forgot….never mind.
Fcuk the Republic Fascist Party
June 10th, 2009 at 6:54 pmThe reality of free energy goes mainstream. On April 19, 2009 CBS’ 60 Minutes broadcasted a segment on Cold Fusion. Not only do they speak optimistically, they also state the Pentagon verified the free energy claims! The MUST SEE CBS video and article are linked below:
Cold Fusion Is Hot Again
60 Minutes: Once Considered Junk Science, Cold Fusion Gets A Second Look By Researchers
Why was this technology suppressed for 20 years? Why does Obama still suppress the technology? See here for answers:
The 9/11 Truth Movement, Free Energy Suppression, and the Global Elite’s Agenda
June 10th, 2009 at 7:02 pmSo their energy plan includes language that pretty much completely undoes the EPA. Brilliant. I’m sure that’ll work well for them.
June 10th, 2009 at 7:12 pmI’m astonished that the MSM is not picking up on stuff like this..Seems all they want to talk about is what Rush and McConnell want to blame on Pelosi and Reid today….whaaa..whaaa…whaaa…All they can do is whine…
THIS IS IMPORTANT STUFF! Now Inhofe seems to be getting his way on basic legislation even in the House of Reps!!! WHAT CRAP..!!!
June 10th, 2009 at 7:17 pmAnti-scientific, stupid cell anemia seems to be an infectious disease among conservatives. How odd.
June 10th, 2009 at 7:18 pmOn a certain level I miss the days when all things climate were sure to bring out flocks of oddballs…
June 10th, 2009 at 8:00 pmThe elephant should no longer symbolize the Republican Party. The ostrich would seem more appropriate!
June 10th, 2009 at 8:14 pmI see no problem with the Republican Bill . . . it’s in keeping with a Party that gives a budget with no numbers, and leadership without leaders . . . . a real reflection of just how far from reality the Republican have moved . . .
June 10th, 2009 at 9:54 pmAs a nation we are committing economic SUICIDE if we don’t fully exploit and develop ALL our energy resources, which includes fossil fuels!!!
Congress needs to pass legislation to reign in the EPA, which has evidently become nothing more than a tool for special interests. This applies to both environmentalists AND big business!
As a nation we simply must continue to refine our energy policy so that it works for US, not for third world countries that are jealous of our standard of living.
June 10th, 2009 at 10:03 pmOkay, forget global warming, there is only X amount of oil and X amount of natural gas. China has cornered 90% of the metals market, things needed for batteries and wires, and are working on weening themselves from fossil fuels.
One way or the other the US will have to move to renewable energy sooner or later. What ideas do you have in that line of thinking GOP?
June 10th, 2009 at 10:06 pmdbadass,
I see you are still worried about “climate change” so what will you say when it becomes painfully evident in the near future that the earth is entering a COOLING period.
I’m old enough to remember the last climate change hysteria… when the conventional wisdom was that the earth was going to enter a new ice age soon! The government was even talking about taking measures to INCREASE global temperatures!!!
Don’t you see? These movements come a long throughout history on a pretty regular basis, but their dire predictions NEVER come to pass!
June 10th, 2009 at 10:08 pmDamn, I agree with Vaculick on this
June 10th, 2009 at 10:09 pmXisithrus,
Well, I’m all for renewable energy, but not when the way it’s proposed would severely impact our economy.
June 10th, 2009 at 10:10 pmOne thing a lot of people fail to realize is the tremendous amounts of energy our economy and standard of living requires!
Reading this blog at times leads me to believe that some of you don’t have a grasp on the reality of how our economy really works and the absolutely vital role played by dependable, affordable energy!
June 10th, 2009 at 10:14 pmLike I have said before, solar, wind power and other forms of “clean” energy are great, but they simply cannot meet the energy demands of our economy! And they won’t be able to either.
It takes significant amounts of high-capacity, base-loaded generation my friends and that means coal, natural gas and nuclear.
June 10th, 2009 at 10:16 pmWhen the price of gasoline rose above 4 [5 in some places] dollars a gallon it had a negative impact on the economy and its headed back up, almost 3 bucks a gallon in many places.
June 10th, 2009 at 10:16 pmXisithrus,
True. I say drill here and drill a lot! We need to develop the oil resources we have!
June 10th, 2009 at 10:19 pmI dont know why you keep saying that, many here have a good grasp on how the economy works. Many of us said we were in a recession while pundits, and the president [Bush] were saying the fundamentals of the economy were strong and denied being in a recession for months.
I read plenty of financial stuff, TYVM
June 10th, 2009 at 10:19 pmFrom what I gather the oil companies have actually reduced the number of wells…
June 10th, 2009 at 10:25 pmJune 5, 2009
U.S. Gulf of Mexico 63 of the 114 mobile offshore drilling rigs in the U.S. Gulf under contract fleet utilization is 55.3 percent.
June 10th, 2009 at 10:28 pmJune 11 09 Exxon Mobil Corp. Chief Executive Officer Rex Tillerson, who oversees the world’s largest network of oil refineries, last month said that U.S. gasoline demand growth has already peaked and that some refiners will be forced to shut plants in coming years
June 10th, 2009 at 10:43 pmTax breaks for what? Shutting down refineries?
June 10th, 2009 at 10:44 pmYou remember wrong. It’s a myth that there was ever any support for an ice age by the scientific community. There were very few, vocal people who warned of cooling but it was nothing like the consensus today regarding global warming. But don’t concern yourself with the facts, you go by your faded memories.
June 10th, 2009 at 10:54 pmHELP SAVE THE PLANET.
KILL THE GOP.
June 10th, 2009 at 10:54 pmThis is the same basic idea as not letting Medicare negotiate drug prices.
June 10th, 2009 at 11:28 pmI like comment 23 best … and then WHAM the Freepers wake up from their post assassination buzz and start commenting like there’s no tomorrow.
June 10th, 2009 at 11:32 pmTim Vaculik Says:
I see you are still worried about “climate change” so what will you say when it becomes painfully evident in the near future that the earth is entering a COOLING period.
What, the temperatures are going up now to get a running start in the opposite direction?
.
Tim Vaculik Says:
I’m old enough to remember the last climate change hysteria… when the conventional wisdom was that the earth was going to enter a new ice age soon! The government was even talking about taking measures to INCREASE global temperatures!!!
I don’t remember this; what I remember from that period was all of the talk about fluorocarbons and the ozone layer.
But even if so, one thing you have to understand about science is that it changes its mind as it gathers more data. That’s not a weakness. Rather, it’s a strength. We’re vastly more certain about the science today than we were then.
.
Tim Vaculik Says:
Don’t you see? These movements come a long throughout history on a pretty regular basis, but their dire predictions NEVER come to pass!
I’m guessing you’re also one of those people who sneers at volcano monitoring.
.
Tim Vaculik Says:
Like I have said before, solar, wind power and other forms of “clean” energy are great, but they simply cannot meet the energy demands of our economy! And they won’t be able to either.
Bush spent eight years talking about how new technologies were going to show up someday and magically fix everything, and in the meantime we should sit on our hands and keep burning as much petroleum as possible. So I guess it’s an improvement in terms of hypocrisy that y’all are now claiming that alternative fuels will never work.
But you can’t prove a negative, especially where technology is concerned. If we actually try to do it, we can do it. You’re just preaching the politics of failure again. America has given up on that.
June 10th, 2009 at 11:36 pmTim
The Ice Age canard is a LIE. I know the rightwing keeps saying it. It is a LIE. There were a couple of articles in magazines that posited the possibility but there was NEVER any scientific consensus or even close to agreement from even a FEW scientists that an Ice Age was happening. So you can keep this lie alive by regurgitating it on command but it makes you look dumb. We do NOT have enough oil in the US to make a significant dent in our huge demand. The ONLY thing ‘reining in’ the EPA will accomplish is make a LOT of profits for oil companies and destroy our ecology. It really is easy for the screechmonkeys to get you to spew out what they tell you to think. I would be embarassed if I were you.
June 11th, 2009 at 1:08 amHow special, the pubs can’t see past their greedy little noses. They don’t care what they are leaving future generations(their kids and grandkids)as long as they get money now. Does anyone SERIOUSLY think the oil will last forever? Do we really want to drill in every nook and cranny of this planet for a resource that is finite, or do we want to diversify our enegery sources now and gradually wean ourselves off fossil fuel, sustainable energy is the only way we will survive. WAKE UP people.
June 11th, 2009 at 8:42 amHere’s what I feel we need to do. There is no magic wand you can wave to solve the energy concerns for the future, so we need to look towards:
1. Boosting energy efficiency. There were proposals for 90% efficiency at power plants; is this still realistically feasible? More importantly, less consumption of fuel will lead to less pollutants and greenhouse gasses. We need to use as much of the byproducts to our advantage as possible.
2. Boosting plausible alternative sources. Nuclear power may be an alternative, but we should try to capitalize off of all alternatives, hydroelectric, wind, AND solar.
3. We must use less fuel and natural resources IN GENERAL. We’re already raking the seas of their contents for our food supply; we won’t have to worry about the “fish” part of the equation in the GOP’s plan if there are none to harm!
This is not a party-line concern. This is a humanity concern. The GOP should know better than to ignore the earth’s pains for the sake of the almighty dollar!
June 11th, 2009 at 9:43 amElBruce,
I don’t claim that alternative energy will never work, I’m simply saying it will not be sufficient to replace the massive amounts of base loaded power generation our economy requires. I think there’s no arguyment about that.
So, I still maintain that it makes no sense to adopt policies that harm the production and extraction of all our carbon-based energy assets!
June 11th, 2009 at 7:02 pm