"Why is it so difficult to convince you that your agency should act to protect our environment?"

[DeepModem Mom]

LAT: Bush administration's response to global warming under scrutiny
By Richard Simon, Times Staff Writer
April 24, 2007

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration's chief environmental officer came under fire from the Democratic majority on Capitol Hill this morning for failing to act more aggressively to address global warming in response to the Supreme Court ruling that greenhouse gas emissions are subject to federal regulation.

Democrats on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, led by Chairwoman Barbara Boxer of California, pressed Stephen Johnson, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, to commit to what action he would take in response to the court ruling, but Johnson would not say how soon -- or whether -- his agency would act to regulate carbon dioxide emissions.

"We will move expeditiously but we will move responsibly," Johnson repeatedly told lawmakers. EPA must determine whether greenhouse gas emissions endanger public health or welfare, he said.

Johnson announced his agency was inviting public comment on a request by California to require automakers to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles but also declined to say when -- or if -- he would approve the state's request.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) told Johnson that the ruling made clear that EPA "does, in fact, have the authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate vehicle carbon dioxide emissions, contrary to the agency's insistence otherwise. I hope this will compel your agency not only to recognize its authority but also to act on it."

Boxer scolded Johnson for lacking a sense of urgency in dealing with climate change, and she vowed to summon Johnson back before the committee again and again to grill him on the agency's progress.

Said Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.): "It's time for this administration to stop denying the real impacts of global warming and instead confront them. Why has it been so difficult to convince you that your agency should act to protect our environment?"...

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-ex-epa24apr25,0,2333144.story?coll=la-home-nation

[Lobster Martini]

1. "We will move expeditiously but we will move responsibly,"

"We will move expeditiously but we will move responsibly,"

(Translation: "We will do absolutely nothing.")

[DeepModem Mom]

2. You got it! nt