Little Support For Suing EPA Over Carbon Emissions

Wisconsin Public Radio reported results of a new poll this month that finds that nationally, only one-tenth of the public wants their state to file a lawsuit over a federal plan aimed at reducing carbon emissions from coal-burning power plants.

Governor Scott Walker said in his State of the State Address Wisconsin is planning to sue the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). “Top-down regulations and mandates from the federal government get in the way of innovation and growth in Wisconsin and states like ours. Therefore, I am working with our new Attorney General to prepare a lawsuit challenging the newly proposed federal energy regulations”, Walker said.

However pollster Barry Rabe of the University of Michigan says most people don’t support state lawsuits against federal EPA on global warming emission from power plant electricity providers.

The EPA proposal cuts emissions at coal-fired power plants and a move with major implications for Wisconsin, because coal generates more than half the state’s electricity.

The mandate cuts power plant emissions – the largest source of carbon dioxide (CO2) emission in the U.S. nationwide by 25% by 2030. Climate change, once considered an issue for a distant future, has moved firmly into the present,” the report said. “Summers are longer and hotter, and extended periods of unusual heat last longer than any living American has ever experienced, according to the World Health Organization.