Standing 'O' for EPA head in Copenhagen

COPENHAGEN -- The Obama administration launches a high-level charm offensive today here at the international climate treaty talks, as Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson kicks off a series of daily events by Cabinet secretaries in hopes of convincing world leaders that the United States is serious about tackling global warming.

Jackson is set to tout the EPA's Monday announcement that it was formally declaring greenhouse gases, which scientists blame for climate change, a danger to public health and thus subject to federal regulation under the Clean Air Act.

Even before Jackson takes the spotlight, her announcement already appears to have bought the Obama administration some goodwill from delegates assembled here (along with barbs from congressional Republicans and critics who say a recent British e-mail scandal undermines the scientific evidence of global warming).

Most tangibly, sources report that Jackson received a standing ovation last night at a closed-door administration briefing for environmentalists and other nonprofit groups on the status of the climate talks so far.

A source said it was the first time in recent memory that those groups had given such applause to a U.S. bargaining team at a climate conference. Under the Bush administration, of course, relations between climate activists and the administration were icy, at best.

-- Jim Tankersley

Comments

[scheng1]

The best is for US to set a good example, and prove that going green is beneficial for the world. No point asking the developing countries to do their parts. They wont or can't.

[Jon Minners]

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• Since 1990, Walt Disney World Resort’s water conservation initiatives have enabled net aquifer withdrawals to remain at the same level as 22 years ago.
• 100% of Pepsi Bottling Company’s U.S. electricity needs are offset through the purchase of renewable energy credits.
• Intel Corporation tied a portion of each employee’s variable compensation to the achievement of corporate-wide sustainability goals.
• In 2008, General Electric invested more than $1.4 billion in cleaner technologies, up from $750 million in 2005.
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[Smitty62]

It's just another scheme by obama and the other socialists to saddle American business and the people themselves with more taxes and regulations. The demonizing of CO2 by the EPA is a back door approach to bypass congressional scrutiny.
Obama's polls keep dropping as America awakens to the most incompetent president in recent memory.
Hopefully, America will be able to remain viable until the 2010 elections, and we can fix the damage caused by obama and his cronies.
America cannot afford obama.

[LeoK]

Thank God we're finally getting in step with the rest of the world on this.

"Climategate" notwithstanding, the planet's ice caps and glaciers are melting, and the rain forests of the world are burning. Nothing changes those facts.

Climate change deniers are the current reincarnation of tobacco company scientists and ceo's of the 70's, arguing about a small degree of uncertainty and trying to portray it as equal to the ever-growing mass of contrary data. Time to wake up - the planet has lung cancer.

If any of those English scientists are really found to have tampered with the process of scientific peer review they should be sanctioned in some way. But far too many groups have similar or complementary data for the whole thing to be a mirage.

We may not have a perfect crystal ball on climate futures, but we know enough to err on the side of caution. For once.