We reported last week on the efforts of several states (Texas being the latest to file suit) to stop Environmental Protection Agency regulation of greenhouse gases. The reasons are many, including devastating impacts on the economy.

Add a few more powerful players to the mix — Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour and a leading Senate committee member. Both want to employ the Congressional Review Act. Here is an explanation:

Barbour is floating a draft letter to governors at their winter meeting asking Congress to use the Congressional Review Act to reject EPA’s endangerment finding. That finding cites climate change as a risk to public health and welfare, which the agency is using as justification for pursuing regulations.

"In addition to placing heavy administrative burdens on state environmental quality agencies, regulating greenhouse gases through the Clean Air Act will be costly to consumers and hurt the U.S. economy, resulting in job losses," according to Barbour’s draft.

This echoes an effort by Senate Energy and Natural Resources ranking member Lisa Murkowski, who is expected to call for a vote on a resolution in March to use the Congressional Review Act to block EPA, spokesman Robert Dillon said.

She needs 51 votes and has 40 co-sponsors for her disapproval resolution, including three Democrats led by Senate Agriculture Chairwoman Blanche Lincoln.

Murkowski’s effort, and those by Energy and Commerce ranking member Joe Barton and others in the House, are not expected to be successful, given Democratic control of Congress and opposition from the president, who could veto a resolution even if it gets through both chambers.

But it continues to raise the argument that efforts by the Obama administration and Democratic congressional leaders to limit U.S. greenhouse gases are serious threats to the economy heading into this fall’s elections. 

Hawaii officials are hoping to make the state a leader on the usage of electric vehicles. Nice. It will be great to see "Dog the Bounty Hunter" load perps up in a hybrid SUV.

Starting this month, state and county agencies buying new vehicles are required to give priority to electric vehicles, alternative-fuel vehicles and hybrids. And by the end of next year, government and private parking lots open to the public must have at least one space for electric vehicles and a vehicle charger for every 100 parking spaces.

To offset the costs of electric cars and special parking, the state plans to spend $4.25 million in federal stimulus money by an April 2012 deadline on chargers and grants.

Vehicles that run on electricity rather than gasoline emit less pollution and are expected to be cheaper per mile to operate. They’re under development by every major car maker, and certain models are scheduled to be available in limited quantities on the Mainland by year’s end.

However, it’s unclear when the vehicles will be available to Hawai’i residents, and how quickly they will adopt the cars, which need to be regulary charged with electricity. There are also questions about the durability, reliability and serviceability of this new breed of vehicles.

LEED and environmentally-friendly designs are becoming popular among builders of homes and businesses alike. Now, a group is seeking to push for similar standards for sustainable road designs in an effort to preserve the environment. Very interesting. Governing has more:

Hoping to do for roads what LEED has done for buildings and Energy Star for household appliances, Greenroads has unveiled a new rating system for sustainable road design and construction. In development since early 2007, the system seeks to encourage the more than $80-billion-a-year road construction industry to adopt standards that will build sustainable roads with less environmental impact, lower life cycle costs and resulting in more positive societal outcomes. The rating system, which was jointly developed by researchers from the University of Washington and the global engineering firm CH2M Hill, outlines the minimum requirements that must be met to qualify as a green roadway. Requirements include producing a noise-mitigation plan, reducing stormwater runoff and mitigating urban heat island effects. The system also awards credits for voluntary actions, such as minimizing light pollution, using recycled materials, incorporating quiet pavement and accommodating non-motorized transportation. The system can be used for either new road projects or for upgrades on existing roads. Oregon’s Department of Transportation and the British Columbia Ministry of Transportation and Highways have already expressed interest in the program.

At the Indiana Chamber’s "An Evening With Frank Luntz" on February 16, maybe we will hear the pollster/communicator talk about climate change. According to CQ Politics, Luntz did just that recently.

Not that we weren’t already in for an interesting evening (following the annual Legislative Reception), but this could add a little intrigue.

Luntz’ forte is formulating terminology that can redefine political policy debates. During the Bush administration, he wrote a memo suggesting that Republicans could dampen public concern about global warming by stating — over and over — that the environmentalists’ proposals were loaded with "scientific uncertainty" and would impose an "unfair economic burden" on the nation. By embracing the Luntz approach, climate change skeptics successfully sowed seeds of doubt on climate change and delayed federal action.

But that was then. Now Luntz is applying his "language guidance" talents to help the greens sell their proposals to curb greenhouse gas emissions. Based on polling conducted at the end of 2009, Luntz said that the vast majority of Americans believe that global warming is real and that mankind is contributing to the problem.

According to Luntz, Americans tend to dismiss the scare tactics that environmentalists and global warming skeptics use to shape public opinion. "If you really want to scare Americans, it’s not about glaciers that are melting or the struggle of the polar bear," he said. "What scares Americans is the idea that this great technological industry will be developed in China or India rather than here in America."

Luntz’ report was released at a time when the environmental community is waking up to the reality that the ambitious, economywide climate change bills passed last year by the House and the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee are dead.

As the environmentalists and pro-legislation businesses decide their next steps, they’re likely to keep Luntz’ advice in mind. "The American people don’t accept the status quo," he said. "The American people not only think that we can do better as a country, they want us to do better as a country. And they don’t care whether it’s Republicans or Democrats who are offering it — they expect more."
 

In the final years of the Bush administration, Washington was noted for its lack of substantive action on Capitol Hill. In 2009, many were wishing for a switch back to the previous inaction. In 2010, it’s "are we going to get anything done because we have to get re-elected and we don’t want to make anyone mad?"

Excerpts from a CongressDaily analysis of what’s to come:

House and Senate Democrats plan a 2010 agenda aimed at leaving the second half of the 111th Congress as firmly identified in the public’s mind with economic measures as 2009 was with healthcare reform. In 2010, virtually every bill will be sold as a jobs bill.

That agenda suggests 2010’s legislative output will be far leaner than last year’s, and could once again bode badly for key measures that were shoved aside in the push to pass healthcare legislation.

And if Massachusetts state GOP Sen. Scott Brown defeats Martha Coakley, the state’s Democratic attorney general, in a special election today to give Senate Republicans a 41st vote, virtually every key 2010 initiative, including health care, will be endangered in the Senate. Democrats last year regularly needed 60 votes to move legislation, and Republicans might be even less cooperative in an election year.

Despite a continued push by backers, climate change legislation, which the House has passed, and an overhaul of immigration law appear to face long odds of passage, according to congressional aides and lawmakers.

"It is going to be a very hard year to do what we have to do to meet the needs of the American people and to maintain the fiscal soundness. And that requires some very tough decisions," House Speaker Pelosi has warned.

Pelosi, echoed by other top House Democrats, said she is determined this year to reduce the deficit, which the CBO says hit $1.4 trillion at the end of FY09 and is projected to hit $1.5 trillion for FY10.

But how to pair these seemingly conflicting goals — passing multi-billion-dollar, job-creating packages with cutting spending and reducing the deficit — must await, in part, the president’s budget, set for release in early February.

Many observers speculate Senate Majority Leader Reid will push an energy bill aimed a creating green jobs and improving energy infrastructure without a cap-and-trade provision that Republicans argue amounts to a major energy tax. In a statement last week, a Reid spokeswoman mentioned "clean energy legislation," financial regulatory reform and immigration among priorities for the first half of the year.

Forgive me. I allowed a certain former President to draft the headline.

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer spoke about Arizona’s economic future last week, offering her contention that the Grand Canyon State should strive to become an energy hub. Like many states, she suggested Arizona focus on renewable energy. Additionally, however, she sees nuclear as a "cornerstone" option for the future.  

Republican Gov. Jan Brewer says Arizona’s economic future may hinge on making the state a hub for renewable- and nuclear-energy development that can both power the state and drive job creation.

Speaking Tuesday in Phoenix at a gathering of the Business Summit of the West, Brewer laid out what she called "a vision for Arizona’s second century." It’s one that leans heavily on the production of wind, solar and other leading-edge technologies as she looks to position the state as a leader in green energy.

Brewer also said it’s time to revisit an older power source: nuclear.

"Let there be no doubt. Let there be no mistake. Let there be no mischaracterization: I’m a strong advocate for the development of more nuclear energy in Arizona," Brewer told the conference of elected officials and business leaders at the Arizona Biltmore Resort and Spa. "Nuclear power is at the cornerstone of our clean-energy future."

Her words come two decades after the completion of the state’s Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station. The triple-reactor plant 50 miles west of downtown Phoenix was the nation’s last such facility to come online.

Despite a few horrific accidents in the past, nuclear power is making a comeback as a low-emission energy alternative due to many safety improvements in the past few decades.

It seems bad news abounds these days. Skyrocketing health care costs. Escalating deficits. Reality television is still here. But it’s not all bad. The Colts are 12-0. The economy is due to pick up (any day now…). And hey, there’s at least a 65% chance you’re not one of Tiger Woods’ mistresses.

Even better, the National Center for Policy Analysis has summarized a post from The American illustrating there’s still hope for the old U.S. of A. Check it out:

According to a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control:

• Life expectancy for Americans reached an all-time high of nearly 78 years (77.9) in 2007 (most recent data available), the age-adjusted death rate dropped to a new all-time low, and life expectancy for black males reached a new record of 70 years.
• Compared to the life expectancy in 1929 of only 57.1 years, the average American today can expect to live almost 21 years longer.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture:

• Food expenditures by families and individuals (both at home and at restaurants) as a share of disposable personal income reached an all-time record low of 9.6 percent in 2008.
• Spending on food as a share of income was twice that high in the 1950s (average of 19.3 percent), and almost three times as high in the early 1930s.

According to data from the Energy Information Administration:

• The energy consumption required (measured in thousands of British thermal units) to produce a real dollar of output (Gross Domestic Product) fell to an all-time record low of 8.52 in 2008.
• Compared to 1970 when it took 18 Btus to produce a real dollar of GDP, today’s economy is more than twice as energy-efficient.