Although I
think that it is a good decision for Texas to regulate the amount of carbon
emissions it has, I think that Texas should be able to make its own laws
regarding the issue. I think that legislators in Texas should know what is best
for their state, and creating the laws themselves may be better. An article by
Neena Satija said that there was an event in the Texas Capitol where the
chairman of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality talked about the
proposal. There were over 100 people who attended and the general consensus was
"that the state should sue the Environmental Protection Agency, or even
the federal government itself, over the rules if they are finalized." I
think that other measures should be taken before Texas sues anyone in order to
avoid any unintended consequences. When Texas tried to avoid federal environmental
rules before, it only led to a slow-down of the permitting process and energy
companies lost a lot of money.
I definitely
think that the amount of carbon emissions needs to be regulated in order to
take better care of our environment. There is only one earth and I think a lot
of people take the environment for granted and don't care about polluting it as
long as they can make money. While I know the federal government is trying to
do something about this issue, I think that they should come to agreement with
Texas and the other states on more specialized programs. This way, each state
can do what is best for itself as well as the environment.
1 comment:
A commentary in the Lonestar Politcs blog addresses recent statements from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality in which chair Brian Shaw insinuates the TCEQ may choose to ignore new carbon emission regulations proposed by the Obama administration. The author of the commentary contends that Texas and other states should be allowed to set their own environmental standards and work with the federal government to create regulations on an individual basis. The author does admit though, that some people will “take the environment for granted…as long as they can make money.”
I agree with the sentiment that that some corporations will abuse the environment for the sake of profit, but do not believe states are capable of regulating themselves in an objective manner. Air pollution from Texas power plants carries across the state border and travels up to the Northeastern United States via prevailing jet streams. Indeed, pollution from all states affects their neighbors as well as the overall deteriorating air and water quality across the nation. Allowing states to decide their own priorities between economic interests and environmental quality will result in an uneven patchwork of regulations that are ineffective at protecting the environment.
Texas is the top emitter of carbon dioxide in the country and emits almost twice as much as the next closest state, California, which has a larger population but much stricter emission laws. While the TCEQ is worried about “federal overreach,” the Supreme Court recently decided that the “good neighbor” provision of the Clean Air Act does allow the EPA to target states contributing to the pollution in neighboring states. The EPA should be allowed to set nationwide pollution standards that will protect our environment and set an example for other nations to follow, and I believe the TCEQ should follow suit.
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