The Bill I chose is S.482 -- Energy Tax Prevention Act of
2011. This bill would prevent the Environmental Protection agency form taxation
and/or regulation of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. The passing
of this bill would hinder the EPA from enforcing to reduction of greenhouse
gases under the Clean Air Act. This
Act would prevent specific gas emissions such as Water vapor, Carbon dioxide,
Methane, Nitrous oxide, Sulfur hexafluoride, Hydrofluorocarbons,
Perfluorocarbons from being considered “greenhouse gases” and would prevent the
EPA from regulating their emissions, or from categorizing them as “greenhouse
gases” in order for them to be regulated. Provisions include, no further implementation
of the "Light-Duty Vehicle Greenhouse Gas Emission Standards and Corporate
Average Fuel Economy Standards" and the "Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Standards and Fuel Efficiency Standards for Medium- and Heavy-Duty Engines and
Vehicles"(Thomas.gov). Both of these standards would enable the production
of more fuel-efficient vehicles and would aid in the reduction of greenhouse
gases. Major automobile manufacturers are in support of producing more energy
efficient vehicles.
This bill would also retract the implementation of
renewable fuel program. The act would not allow “statutorily authorized federal
research, development, and demonstration programs addressing climate change”
(Thomas.gov). Which would not allow any kind of government funding to aid in
alternative fuel sources in order to reduce greenhouse gases in reference to
concern over climate change. The
act would also not allow “implementation and enforcement of stratospheric ozone
protection to the extent that such implementation or enforcement only involves
class I or II substances” (Thomas.gov). This means that there would be no
allowance to enforce anything in relation to the depletion of the ozone. “Implementation
and enforcement of requirements for monitoring and reporting of carbon dioxide
emissions” (Thomas.gov) would not be allowed to be regulated in relation to climate change, or be referred to as
“greenhouse gases” for the purpose of regulation.
Dear Senator Nelson,
I hope this letter finds you well. My name is Crystal M
Kuntz, and I am a resident of District 3. As my Representative I would like to
ask you to oppose the Energy Tax Prevention Act of 2011 (S.482). This Act would
prevent the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in taxing and/or regulating
purveyors of greenhouse gases. Greenhouses gases are thought to contribute to
Climate change, and scientists are in the process of proving this well founded
theory. Greenhouse gases are called so because they create an effect similar to
that of a greenhouse. The atmosphere traps in heat on the surface like the
walls and the ceiling do of a green house, creating a warmer climate with
in. The greenhouse gases
themselves are not bad, in fact they are a necessary contributing factor to
life on Earth. The negative effects come from an artificial overproduction of
greenhouse gases on the surface. The effects of this, scientists predict, could
be catastrophic, such as polar ice caps melting, sea levels rising, and coastal
flooding. These dangers propose especially detrimental to our peninsula state,
Florida.
The US is
currently in the top 20 countries of greenhouse gas emission producers, yet we
have not ratified the United Nations KYOTO protocol. They Kyoto protocol and
the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change are both devoted to
the reduction of green houses gases globally. As you may already know, the
Clinton administration signed the protocol but it was not ratified. The Bush
administration then rejected the protocol and did not participate in
Kyoto-protocol related negotiations. 35 developed nations have already ratified
the protocol, and we are falling behind. The US is currently being sued over
their noncompliance in the reduction of greenhouse gases by several island
nations, the state of California, and by environmental activists groups in
America.
I believe that opposing this bill is important. Although we
have not ratified the Kyoto protocol you could start taking steps into the
right direction, by not allowing this law to come to pass. We only have one
world, one nation, and one human race. It is our duty to protect it. We also
have an obligation to our fellow nations to not put them into harms way due to
our own noncompliance issues. Allowing the EPA to tax companies based on greenhouse
gas emissions will go a very long way in securing a future for our State, our
Nation, and for generations to come. I implore you Representative Brown, when
this bill comes to you, please consider what you have read here today and
consider what may be at stake if this bill is not opposed. I thank you for taking the time to allow
me to show why this matter is of the upmost importance to me, and many others.
Sincerely,
Crystal M Kuntz
Self Evaluation:
I believe I did well on this assignment. It is very
important to me that this bill not be aloud to be passed. I believe that our
environment is precious and we should not be turning a blind eye to it in order
to fuel a capitalistic agenda. By allowing constant pollution of our air and
our world, we are dooming future generations to clean up after our mistakes. I
wasn’t even aware that they were trying to pass this law. I was shocked that there
is even consideration to oppose compliance to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
when most of the developed nations in the world are complying. I believe that this problem should be
addresses, not suppressed. I have not received a response to my letter, I am
hoping Sen Nelson will be on my side of opposition of the bill. I believe the
senator will most likely be on the side of the head administrator of the EPA,
Administrator Lisa Jackson, who also opposes this bill.
References:
http://www.livestrong.com/article/176853-why-are-greenhouse-gases-bad/
http://www.scribd.com/doc/48518769/Energy-Tax-Prevention-Act-of-2011
