Bill asks halt to new coal plants

(Photo of coal plant in Sauget, Ill., from Flickr and photographer Jay Dugger.)

Congressional Round-up: Sens. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.) have introduced a bill creating a moratorium on new coal-fired utility plants unless they can capture and sequester 80% of their greenhouse gas emissions. They see the bill as a stop-gap until an economy-wide global warming law caps GHG at 80% below 1990 levels by 2050. There are 47 plants in the permitting process or under construction across the U.S., with another 67 on the drawing boards. Uncertainty about the future and environmentalists’ objections have put a stop to a number of plants that were planned. (E&E New PM)

The Bush Administration ignored an EPA recommendation several months ago to increase fuel economy in autos because CO2 is bad for public health. See washingtonpost.com

Global warming deniers will lobby Congress against regulating greenhouse gases, said Joe Bast, of the Heartland Institute, organizer of a deniers’ convention earlier this month. He vowed a strong campaign against cap-and-trade legislation. The deniers don’t believe that human activity and GHG cause climate change. (Greenwire)

Senators slammed EPA’s new ozone regs and plans to change the Clean Air Act this week. They said the mandate for reduced ground-level ozone didn’t go far enough and will let many counties off the hook in forcing power plants and autos to reduce emissions. EPA also wants to change the Clean Air Act so decision-makers will be able to consider costs, benefits, risk trade-offs and feasibility in making decisions under the act. (E&E Daily, Greenwire)