US White House Acknowledges but Fails to Lead on Climate Change
They basically say “there’s nothing we can do…so screw it!”
The White House is working to roll back efficiency standards for vehicles.
The EPA and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) 500-page environmental impact analysis of this move has some unbelievably nihilistic rationale buried in it.
The report acknowledges global warming is being caused by man-made GHG emissions. It states that the world will warm by 7°F by 2100 if nothing is done and that this warming will be disastrous.
They then go on to say that, despite their understanding of the situation, it is “not currently technologically feasible or economically practicable” to move away from fossil fuels at the level required to avert dangerous climate change. And, it is therefore not worth doing anything.
But not only that. Their logic goes that since current fuel efficiency standards do not do enough to address the issue anyway, they’re not worth having at all and should be rolled back in favor of less efficient vehicles.
I kid you not, these new standards that will reduce the efficiency of our vehicles and do nothing to address the admittedly dangerous climate change are called “SAFE” (Safer Affordable Fuel Efficient). The cajones on these guys!
The logic could not be more ass-backwards. They’re working under the assumption that climate change is real, man-made, and dangerous, but is using it as a “We’re all screwed anyway so what difference does it make?” card.
The policy is terrible and I don’t think it’ll actually do anything because automakers know electric vehicles are the future. I only tell you this story to highlight the mentality that has taken hold of the most powerful branch of government in the world. On this issue specifically, without taking any other happenings into consideration, their decision making shows them to be one of two things. 1. Corrupt, choosing the interests of corporations over people or 2. A bunch of losers who can’t do what needs to be done and have given up on even trying. Or both. Take your pick.
Luckily, none of this can stop us from making progress at the state and local level. Our energy and attention should be focused here, on what we can control.
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