Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) have formed a Climate Action Task Force to try to convince Congress to do something productive and to prevent them from doing anything stupid. Meanwhile, the Environmental Protection Agency has finally published their rule for “Greenhouse Gas Emissions From New Stationary Sources,” i.e., power plants.
The Republicans are predictably apoplectic about the new regulations, claiming that carbon capture technology is not ready for primetime. You can read a condensed version of their talking points here. Basically, they are saying that the rule will prevent any new coal-burning power plants from being built, despite the fact that new coal-burning power plants are being built, and more are in the planning stages.
The thing is, I don’t know why these folks are worried. The energy-producing corporations always win.