Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Walker Administration Two-Faced On Clean Air

I've posted items about the Air Quality Tips of the Week as published online by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, as these so-called tips in an era of changing and challenging climate and unhealthy environments can be childlike and weak.

Here is the latest:

Air quality tip of the week

For the week of August 5, 2012:
Is it a hazy day today? One of the most basic forms or air pollution comes from tiny particles of pollution suspended in our air. As sunlight hits these particles we see haze in the sky. It can make for a pretty sunset, but do you want to breathe in all of that pollution? Visit EPA to learn more.
OK - - I don't want to breathe in all that pollution! And yes, I want to know more...I hope there is more... so off I go to the EPA link, since the DNR apparently cannot produce anything of value in-house, and among the links I find at the EPA site is this one:
Regulatory Actions - Actions EPA is taking to combat haze and improve visibility. 
Wherein I see that the EPA is actually trying to do something beyond publishing a weekly bumper sticker to make sure there is less pollution in the air and our water and lungs, despite the year-old, clean-air obstructionist efforts of some states, including Wisconsin!
The Supreme Court blocked a federal lawsuit Monday by states and conservation groups trying to force cuts in greenhouse gas emissions from power plants.

The court said that the authority to seek reductions in emissions rests with the Environmental Protection Agency, not the courts. The ruling was 8-0...

Eight states initially banded together to sue. They were California, Connecticut, Iowa, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin. New Jersey and Wisconsin withdrew this year after Republicans replaced Democrats in their governor’s offices.
And efforts to weaken air quality management didn't just happen through the active legal opposition of the Walker administration and Attorney General J. B. Van Hollen.

Walker appointees have cut back on clean air enforcement, as documented by The Wisconsin State Journal.

So that air quality tip of the week?

Useless and disingenuous.


2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Cough-cough-wheeeeze!

Wait. What? There is a problem with air quality?

Anonymous said...

If the EPA is the ultimate regulatory agency, then it is also logical that they should be the ultimate enforcement agency.

Let the DNR stick to building parks and putting out forest fires. Or maybe just let the Feds do that too.