There is no doubt there is climate change. It all goes in cycles and has nothing to do with us. The sun gets hotter, the orbits change a little......
Sent from my iPhone > On Dec 21, 2016, at 11:10 AM, Dimitri via Mercedes <mercedes@okiebenz.com> > wrote: > > I'm not a denier. I just doubt that we are responsible for it as the evidence > is not clear. I don't believe in science that is created in order to further > a political agenda. I think we should do everything within reason to protect > our planet either way. > > Sent from my iPhone > >> On Dec 21, 2016, at 9:19 AM, Andrew Strasfogel via Mercedes >> <mercedes@okiebenz.com> wrote: >> >> And is doing something about it - take note Curt and Dimitri. >> >> GOP climate leader cuts emissions, except from cars >> >> Benjamin Storrow <http://www.eenews.net/staff/Benjamin_Storrow>, E&E News >> reporter >> Published: Wednesday, December 21, 2016 >> >> Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker is a rarity among Republicans. He believes >> in climate change, and he's doing something about it. >> >> Baker released a proposal >> <http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/massdep/air/climate/section3d-comments.html> >> last week to curb greenhouse gas emissions by 7.2 percent of 1990 levels >> in four years. The plan calls on power plants to curtail emissions, on the >> state government to upgrade its vehicle fleet and on pipeline operators to >> patch leaky distribution lines. >> >> The question for Massachusetts: Does Baker's plan go far enough? >> >> [image: E&E Power Plan Hub Logo] >> <http://www.eenews.net/interactive/clean_power_plan> >> >> The answer is legally important. Massachusetts' high court ruled this >> summer that the Bay State is bound by a 2008 law requiring it to slash >> carbon emissions 25 percent of 1990 levels by 2020 and 80 percent by 2050 ( >> Climatewire <http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060037515/>, May >> 19). >> >> Greens are quick to praise the governor. In the current political >> environment, they view any Republican working to combat climate change as a >> positive development. But the plan will almost certainly fail to meet the >> state's ambitious carbon-cutting goals, they say, noting that it does >> little to meaningfully tackle the transportation sector, now the largest >> emitter of greenhouse gases. >> >> "I am encouraged that they are taking these steps," said Peter Shattuck, >> director of the clean energy initiative at the Acadia Center, an >> environmental group. "For the long term, there clearly needs to be a lot >> more done to achieve the 2050 reduction and the interim reduction to get >> there." >> >> Power generators, for their part, see the plan as piling on. They would be >> required to come up with the majority of emission cuts (about 4 percent) >> under Baker's proposal. >> >> Utilities have cut their carbon emissions 60 percent in the last 16 years, >> said Dan Dolan, president of the New England Power Generators Association. >> Transportation, meanwhile, accounted for more than 40 percent of all >> statewide greenhouse gas emissions, roughly twice as much as the power >> sector. >> >> "We've picked the low-hanging fruit, and the focus needs to be shifted to >> the places where the low-hanging fruit hasn't been picked," Dolan said. >> Deeper cuts at power plants >> >> State officials say they believe the plan gets Massachusetts to its legal >> targets. In 2013, the state had already cut emissions by 19.7 percent of >> 1990 levels, according figures by the Massachusetts Department of >> Environmental Protection. >> >> Martin Suuberg, commissioner of the state Department of Environmental >> Protection, said the state tends to err conservatively when proposing >> emissions cuts. But he said regulators are open to ideas. >> [image: Charlie Baker] >> >> Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R). Photo courtesy of Wikipedia. >> >> The state's plan, which now goes out for public comment, calls on imposing >> an annual emissions cap of 9.1 million tons on power plants starting in >> 2018. That would fall to 8.6 million tons by 2020 and 1.8 million tons in >> 2050. >> >> It would also impose emission limits for state-owned vehicles, and it calls >> on gas companies to patch leaky distribution lines and institute a clean >> energy standard, allowing generators to receive credits for procuring >> low-emitting sources of electricity, like hydro. The proposal would >> effectively increase the state's renewable portfolio standard, which now >> requires that generators receive 11 percent of their power from sources >> like wind and solar. >> >> "I think we all recognize that we need to keep making progress, >> particularly as we're moving to transportation and other sectors," Suuberg >> said in an interview. >> >> Environmentalists are hopeful that they can convince Baker to go further >> still. The state's proposed cap on power plant emissions needs to be about >> 1 million tons lower to meet its legal responsibilities, said David Ismay, >> an attorney with the Conservation Law Foundation. >> >> And while addressing state-owned vehicles is a start, "these regulations do >> virtually no meaningful work in reducing those transportation sector >> emissions," he said. >> >> Baker may yet prove a test case for how far Republicans are willing to go >> in addressing climate change. >> _______________________________________ >> http://www.okiebenz.com >> >> To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ >> >> To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: >> http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com >> > > _______________________________________ > http://www.okiebenz.com > > To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com > _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
