The following resolution, slamming Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, is pending a vote next week by the
Arlington County Democratic Committee (ACDC). I expect that it will be approved overwhelmingly, and I thank ACDC chair Mike Lieberman for taking the lead on this crucial issue. As always, I'm proud to be an Arlingtonian!
Resolution on Virginia Attorney General’s Actions on the Clean Air Act
Whereas, overwhelming scientific evidence now indicates both the current reality of climate change and the fact that warming trends are being influenced by human activities that release greenhouse gases, principally carbon dioxide;
Whereas, the United States Supreme Court in Massachusetts v. EPA, 549 U.S. 497 (2007), found that greenhouse gases are air pollutants covered by the Clean Air Act and held that the US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) has the authority and a duty under the Clean Air Act to determine whether greenhouse gases pose a threat to public health and if it does, to take corrective actions;
Whereas, the US EPA appropriately discharged its statutory authority and duty in reaching its finding that the mix of six long-lived and directly-emitted greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) “in the atmosphere may reasonably be anticipated both to endanger public health and to endanger public welfare.”;
Whereas, on February 16, 2010, the Virginia Attorney General filed a request with the US EPA to reconsider its determination and also a Petition for Review in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit seeking judicial review of that determination;
Whereas, in a statement to the press announcing his filings, the Attorney General explained, “We cannot allow unelected bureaucrats with political agendas to use falsified data to regulate American industry and drive our economy into the ground.”;
Whereas, the Commonwealth of Virginia is presently in a severe budget crisis and cannot afford to waste taxpayer dollars on frivolous politically-motivated litigation;
Whereas, Virginia’s elected officials should be focused on responding to and addressing threats to public health and welfare created by air pollutants, while promoting a clean energy economy and green jobs, rather than attempting to spread misinformation and obstruct progress on these matters;
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Arlington County Democratic Committee hereby condemns the actions by the Virginia Attorney General to petition to reverse and obstruct US EPA's climate change endangerment finding, asks that these petitions be withdrawn, and asks that no further Virginia taxpayer dollars be spent to pursue these or similar actions
