By ASHLEY E. ORGAN, Assistant Editor Energy Nation, a group formed by the American Petroleum Institute (API) that brings together current and former American energy workers to take the lead in the nation’s conversation about energy, has recently released a brief online video warning against new legislation proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Historically, the EPA’s role has been to develop regulations based on science from laws passed by Congress to protect human health and the environment. According to Energy Nation, the EPA is moving beyond the science and into the political arena to push for new standards that could cost millions of jobs for Americans, lead to increased energy costs for consumers, and put the US at a disadvantage in the global race for energy. New standards are virtually unattainable The EPA’s proposed ozone standards, for example, are “virtually unattainable and scientifically unnecessary,” the video says. The new standards would require companies to make extensive changes that would cost US $1 trillion in new costs per year, potentially crippling US productivity. According to Energy Nation, not even Yellowstone National Park would be in compliance with the standards. In addition, the EPA also is pushing new greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions standards under the Clean Air Act, which was never meant to address CO2 emissions from stationary sources. The actions on GHGs would force unrealistic requirements on six million US businesses, the video says, including industrial facilities, power plants, hospitals, and even small “mom and pop” businesses. “One US senator called it ‘an economic trainwreck,” the video adds. Finally, the video addresses the EPA’s support of a new E15 gasoline blend for certain vehicles, which was approved prior to the completion of comprehensive safety studies that will not be finalized until late 2011. According to Energy Nation, until testing is complete and given the go-ahead, the E15 remains potentially harmful for many gasoline-powered engines. “The US needs to protect the environment,” the video says, “but it is time for the EPA to stop overreaching its authority.”
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