Monday, June 22, 2009
Or, another excellent Pigouvian tax bites the dust.
The politics....
Angered by White House decisions on everything from greenhouse gases to car dealerships, congressional Democrats from rural districts are threatening to revolt against parts of President Barack Obama’s ambitious first-year agenda. “They don’t get rural America,” said Rep. Dennis Cardoza, a Democrat who represents California’s agriculture-rich Central Valley. “They form their views of the world in large cities.” ...The problem...
A rural revolt could hamper the administration’s ability to pass climate change and health care legislation ... In the House, rural Democrats threaten to marshal nearly 50 votes against the climate and energy bill backed by the administration.
... much of rural Democrats’ unhappiness with the new administration has focused on the EPA ... Obama’s EPA has moved forward quickly on a host of new regulations, including limits on greenhouse gas emissions that farm lobbyists say will raise costs on farmers... [Politico]
But that's the difficult solution, here's the easy one...Agriculture interests are scrambling to cover their rears -- or more precisely, those of their cattle -- from potential new regulation, as U.S. EPA closes in on a finding that could lead to new a regime on greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act.
Some agriculture groups and farm-state lawmakers are concerned the federal government could be forced to impose fees on livestock operations for the methane emissions that result from the flatulence and burps from their cows or pigs.
If EPA took this route, more than 90 percent of dairy, beef and hog operations could face fines, according to farm groups, with potential losses totaling $175 per dairy cow, $87.50 per head of beef cattle and $20 per hog ...
"If they do regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act, then they will have to do all sources, all emitters," said Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), co-sponsor of the Senate cow tax bill. "That will include livestock because of the methane created and the greenhouse gas and carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere."...
Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, 20 times more effective at trapping heat than carbon dioxide, and a natural byproduct of the digestive process for cows and other livestock... [emphasis added] [E&E News]
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... the nation's 170 million cattle, sheep and pigs produces about one-quarter of the methane released in the U.S. each year, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. That makes the hoofed critters the largest source of the heat-trapping gas.... [a] contributor to global warming bigger than coal mines, landfills and sewage treatment plants ..
Research has shown that changing cattle diet and boosting efficiency — such as producing the same amount of milk and beef from a smaller herd — can result in less gas, according Frank M. Mitloehner, an associate professor at the University of California at Davis, who has studied livestock gas for 15 years."I don't think livestock should be ignored. Every industry has to play their role," Mitloehner said. [ AP ]
House appropriators approved a $10.6 billion spending bill for U.S. EPA last night, tucking in several amendments aimed at insulating agricultural interests from the reach of federal climate regulations ... [including] provisions to block EPA regulations requiring factory farms to report their greenhouse gas emissions and exempt livestock operations from possible carbon regulations.So as city people get hit with global warming taxes farmers get off free -- and cow gas remains a threat to burn the world ...
... agriculture groups and farm-state lawmakers are concerned that if EPA moves to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act, EPA could impose fees on livestock operations for the methane emissions that result from the flatulence and burps from their cows or pigs..
... the amendment would prohibit EPA from requiring Clean Air Act permits for carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gases emitted by livestock... [ NY Times ]
