Reply to EPA Head Zeldin on "Ruthless" podcast

Forum Index » Political Discussion

Reply to "EPA Head Zeldin on "Ruthless" podcast"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]CAFE standards are gone!  Hip Hip Hooray!

https://issuesinsights.com/2025/07/25/car-lovers-rejoice-after-50-miserable-years-cafe-standards-are-dead/[/quote]

Wow, what a junk article!  It’s deregulation fan fiction dressed as journalism.  Let's look at its laughable claims.

"CAFE Killed Cars and People"
That 2002 stat blaming fuel standards for traffic deaths? Cherry-picked. It ignored major safety improvements and the fact that car design, not just weight, drives crash outcomes.

"Automakers Got Fleeced"
A few fines (like Chrysler’s) don’t mean routine punishment and in fact automakers go years and years without any issues. Most companies dodge penalties through fleet credits and tech upgrades. Calling it a "bloodbath" is pure melodrama completely detached from reality.

"CAFE Forced the SUV Boom"
Nope. That was consumer demand and marketing swagger. Blaming CAFE for station wagons’ demise and gas-hogging SUVs is lazy revisionism.

"Obama’s MPG Rule = EV Mandate"
54.5 mpg was projected average, not a demand for pure EVs. Automakers had flexible paths - hybrids, credits, innovations. The article oversells the idea of an "EV conspiracy."

"The Bill Killed CAFE Forever"
Congress didn't "wipe out" fuel economy standards.  It just says they won't be penalized for not meeting them.  But there are lots of incentives for auto makers to still strive to maintain them regardless of what Congress did.[/quote]safety improvements plus higher weight is better than safety improvements plus lower weight.[/quote]

There's a damning article in Slate detailing how Trump's EPA has gone completely rogue where the courts and scientific research and findings are concerned:  https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2025/08/epa-climate-change-greenhouse-gases-pollutant-scary.html

As noted above, EPA has proposed rescinding its 2009 "endangerment finding"—the key determination that greenhouse gases (GHGs) harm public health and welfare. This reversal, coupled with a plan to repeal all federal vehicle emissions standards, represents what Slate calls the “most damaging climate change–related regulatory action ever.” Legal, scientific, and economic justifications offered by the agency are flimsy and professionally irresponsible.

Key Trump EPA Actions That Contradict Law or Supreme Court Rulings:

- Rescinded the 2009 GHG Endangerment Finding: Violates Clean Air Act and statutory definition of “welfare.”  The Act explicitly includes climate impacts. Courts affirm broad interpretation with no “local-only” pollution constraint.

- Repealing All GHG Standards for Vehicles: Contradicts Massachusetts v. EPA	SCOTUS held that EPA must regulate GHGs from vehicles under the Clean Air Act. EPA’s reasoning directly opposes this finding.

- Completely Mischaracterizes UARG v. EPA: Trump EPA claims it can't treat GHGs as pollutants, but UARG upheld EPA’s authority to regulate GHGs in specific programs.

- Ignores American Electric Power v. Connecticut:  Trump's EPA defies a binding precedent, this case confirmed EPA’s authority to regulate CO₂ under multiple Clean Air Act provisions.

- Redefines “Air Pollutant” to Exclude Global Emissions:  This is a completely fabricated statutory interpretation.  Trump's EPA invented a "local pollution only" rule not found anywhere in the statute.

Trump EPA's moves that are not only anti-science, but defy economic logic:

- Claims that eliminating vehicle GHGs wouldn't impact climate change, ignoring the fact that transportation is the largest U.S. emissions source.

- Cites a fringe, non-peer-reviewed report from climate science “dissenters” handpicked by the Energy Secretary.

- Ignores fuel-saving benefits and climate advantages in its cost-benefit analysis, creating a tautological case that regulations only have costs when benefits are excluded.

These moves are engineered to try and bypass the courts, bypass statutes, ignore precedents, and to short-circuit the entire regulatory framework for addressing climate pollution.[/quote]

So Trump's EPA head is ignoring the laws and statutes, and is ignoring and misrepresenting and outright lying about not just one but numerous court orders.

This is truly a lawless banana-republic administration.  [/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics