<![CDATA[Grist - Comment Feed for Even though conventional wisdom says you need him to pass major environmental legislation]]> Grist Comment Feed en Comment #1 by Hudson http://www.grist.org/article/dingell-is-dispensable/ Mon, 13 Aug 2007 09:35:40 -0700 http://www.grist.org/article/dingell-is-dispensable/1 The true face of Dingell

In the 1990s, the Clinton-era EPA was investigating a large coal-burning cement plant owned by Holnam (now Holcim) in Dundee, Michigan.

EPA found that the plant had been exceeding its permitted levels of sulfur dioxide emissions by 700% -- for over 17 years.

So what did Dingell do? He wrote letters to EPA demanding that the agency go easy on Holnam.

SO2 is a major greenhouse gas. No one who truly cares about his constituents' (or planet's) health would behave that way. But Holnam was a big supporter of Dingell.

In the end, the plant was fined over $500,000. That may sound like a lot, but if you amortize it over two decades, and consider how much extra profit this highly-profitable plant made over that period, it was like you or me getting a parking ticket.

Animals are my friends. And I don't eat my friends. -- George Bernard Shaw


]]> The true face of Dingell

In the 1990s, the Clinton-era EPA was investigating a large coal-burning cement plant owned by Holnam (now Holcim) in Dundee, Michigan.

EPA found that the plant had been exceeding its permitted levels of sulfur dioxide emissions by 700% -- for over 17 years.

So what did Dingell do? He wrote letters to EPA demanding that the agency go easy on Holnam.

SO2 is a major greenhouse gas. No one who truly cares about his constituents' (or planet's) health would behave that way. But Holnam was a big supporter of Dingell.

In the end, the plant was fined over $500,000. That may sound like a lot, but if you amortize it over two decades, and consider how much extra profit this highly-profitable plant made over that period, it was like you or me getting a parking ticket.

Animals are my friends. And I don't eat my friends. -- George Bernard Shaw


]]> Comment #2 by drosenblum http://www.grist.org/article/dingell-is-dispensable/ Mon, 13 Aug 2007 23:43:56 -0700 http://www.grist.org/article/dingell-is-dispensable/2 Carbon Tax Is a Good Test

"It's important to keep an eye on what he's actually doing where it matters -- and whether he's gaining any traction. So far, he's fought hard against all steps forward, but it hasn't made much difference in policy."  

Dingell's anticipated carbon tax proposal will be an excellent test of whether there is substance behind the rhetoric.  If he uses his remaining power to help pass a revenue-neutral carbon tax, he will conclusively demonstrate his commitment to serious action on global warming.  If it's lip service designed to sabotage other efforts, you're right that we should stop obsessing about what Dingell thinks or does.

]]> Carbon Tax Is a Good Test

"It's important to keep an eye on what he's actually doing where it matters -- and whether he's gaining any traction. So far, he's fought hard against all steps forward, but it hasn't made much difference in policy."  

Dingell's anticipated carbon tax proposal will be an excellent test of whether there is substance behind the rhetoric.  If he uses his remaining power to help pass a revenue-neutral carbon tax, he will conclusively demonstrate his commitment to serious action on global warming.  If it's lip service designed to sabotage other efforts, you're right that we should stop obsessing about what Dingell thinks or does.

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