Report from the 'War on Coal'

[Geee]

American Thinker:

A major project has been quietly underway, within the executive branch of the U.S. government, trying to calculate a "social cost of carbon" (SCC) -- a so-called "non-market externality" (i. e., not captured by the normal price system of a free market). This calculated cost would then be imposed on all government programs in order to "fix" the price system -- so they say.

The SCC report was published in May 2013, with little fanfare; public comments had to be submitted by Sept. 16. But this whole misconceived exercise has no valid scientific basis and can destroy the supply of low-cost, reliable electric power. It is certain to face legal challenges from industry and informed consumer groups; it should be abandoned.

Even the terminology is confusing. The interagency SCC group, made up of the top brains from about a dozen departments, cannot even define their terms properly. What they label "cost" is the damage (disbenefit) of a hypothesized global warming, supposedly caused by atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2). These imagined disbenefits will eventually be compared with the better-defined real cost of controlling CO2 emissions in the United States -- a kind of benefit-cost analysis.

[Valin]

@Geee

 

I bring some very very sad news That evil extremest terrorist Mitch McConnell is at it again!

 

Obama Nominee Withdraws After GOP Opposition over War on Coal

William Bigelow

1 Oct 2013

 

Ron Binz, who was nominated by President Barack Obama to lead the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), revealed on Tuesday that he was withdrawing his name because of strong opposition from coal supporters, whose cause was partly spearheaded by Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) in the Senate.

 

McConnell had warned that any attempt to nominate Binz without approval from the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources would meet with a Republican filibuster.

 

FERC is responsible for supervising interstate power lines and pipelines. Politico called Binz’s withdrawal “a stunning setback for the president, who has succeeded in winning Senate confirmations for far more controversial nominees at EPA, the Pentagon and the Labor Department.”

 

(Snip)