I have to give the EPA some credit this year: despite the political hurdles the right-wing politicians have thrown at them, they have continued to slog on with enforcing the Clean Air Act and try to do what they can about coal mining and emissions. I wasn’t too happy about their work on the BP oil leak and spills, or the misinformation they seemed to spread about where all the oil went — much of it is clearly still in the Gulf of Mexico.   Also not admirable was their misinformation about the Corexit during the oil leak. Now much of that oil is still under the water and no one knows the long-term effects of the dispersants.

Lately, however, the EPA has shown itself to be nearly in defiance of obstructionist politics in their attempts to get things done,  to ensure our environment isn’t completely trashed by the pro-business policies of our government. The pro-corporate policies are not just coming from Republicans either; President Obama himself is telling the G20 this week that faster U.S. growth is the key to fixing our economic problems. Unfortunately, more U.S. “growth” is what has caused the climate change mess we’re in.

A policewoman uses a blanket to try to cover activists from People for The Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) as they protest outside a G20 Summit venue in Seoul November 9, 2010.   Holding signs “Save the Planet, Go Vegetarian”, activists from PETA staged a brief protest against what they say are hazards of meat production before police stopped and detained them outside a G20 Summit venue in Seoul.  From PlanetArk.

President Obama needs to understand the destructive role of economic growth to the environment, and how it adds to climate change.  At some point, when the economy has recovered enough that people have settled down and can think of other things, growth is going to have to stop being the main pursuit of governments.

The EPA is trying to deal with the results of growth.  This is recent EPA news:

EPA Finalizes Greenhouse Gas Reporting Requirements for Petroleum and Natural Gas Industry

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finalized greenhouse gas (GHG) reporting requirements for the petroleum and natural gas industries as part of the mandatory reporting program. The petroleum and natural gas industries emit methane, carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, and are one of the largest human related sources of methane in the United States.  Annual methane emissions from intentional venting and equipment leaks from these industries are comparable to annual emissions from more than 40 million passenger cars.   

The data collected through the reporting program will provide important information about GHG emissions from petroleum and natural gas facilities. While methane is a potent greenhouse gas, trapping more than 20 times as much heat as carbon dioxide, it is also the primary component of natural gas, a valuable fuel.  The data collected by the companies will help identify cost effective ways to minimize the loss [...]