Conservative Opposition to EPA GHG Regulation Gaining Momentum

Opposition to EPA regulation of GHGs has spread among conservative politicians, commentators, and grassroots organizations, Greenwire reported. Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., described EPA regulation of GHG emissions as "a national energy tax" that would destroy jobs and further impact "our already struggling economy." A petition being circulated by Americans for Prosperity, an organizer of the Tea Party, describes EPA as "an out-of-control bureaucracy attempting an unprecedented power-grab."

Wrote Greenwire: "Activists promoting political action against EPA admit that many rank-and-file voters and tea party participants may not fully understand the agency's regulatory efforts on the climate front. But they argue the EPA initiative hits all hot-button ideas fueling the conservative movement."

Marc Morano, executive editor of the Web site Climate Depot, speculated that the Obama administration and Senate leadership have moved slowly on EPA regulation because conservative opposition has been so vehement: "You have talk radio, Internet, blogs on a daily basis just shelling what was left of this consensus on global warming. People no longer buy it and congressmen know it." The political fallout, said Greenwire, could be considerable if additional moderate Democrats join with conservatives to try to block or delay EPA action on GHGs.