A Preposterous Proposition
In Manhattan Contrarian, the way Francis Mention tells it, he and cohorts formed what is known as the Concerned Household Electricity Consumers Council (CHECC) to petition EPA to rescind the Endangerment Finding (EF). CHECC filed a Petition to EPA on 20 January 2017 — the first day of the Trump 1.0 administration.
Danger from CO2?
The CHECC’s fundamental idea was to bring this issue to the attention of the new Trump EPA with the goal of ensuring everyone paid attention to it. Also presented was compelling scientific evidence that the idea CO2 was a “danger” was preposterous.
When the petition was completely ignored, Mr. Menton and his cohorts were surprised. Or at least, Mr. Menton was.
Over the course of four years, we continually tried to get information as to what was going on (with little success). Also filed were seven supplements to their Petition, each bringing to bear new scientific articles or evidence making clear that CO2 was not at all a “danger” to human health and welfare. But through the entirety of Trump 1.0, there was no action on this issue.
On January 19, 2021 — that is, one day before leaving office — the Trump EPA denied our Petition with a one-paragraph summary dismissal. The incoming Biden administration then took another year and three months and came out with a much longer and more devious denial of our Petition in April 2022.
After that denial, did CHECC just give up? No, bless their hearts, not at all. Instead, the group came up with the idea that if it saw this through the D.C. Circuit and the Supreme Court, it might get a decision compelling a reconsideration of the EF just in time for a new Trump administration to take office.
How Did That Work?
Perhaps, so the thinking went, such a decision would force the Trump administration to look at the decision. Wrong! The CHECC’s efforts were unsuccessful in both the D.C. Circuit and Supreme Court.
The petition for review to the U.S. Supreme Court was denied on 11 December 2002, writes Mr. Menton. “For those interested, here is a link to the court dockets of the D.C. Circuit and Supreme Court for these cases.”
Why Not Start a New Petition Process?
No need. Trump 2.0 certainly is off to a good start. Upon taking office, the Trump administration is taking on the Endangerment Finding without any new petition getting filed at all. “Hallelujah!”
As Mr. Menton notes, somebody over there (can we assume the White House?) must finally understand the importance of this. Maybe even the Donald himself!
Did the Manhattan Contrarian and the CHECC’s efforts have something to do with educating Trump and his people? Who knows for sure, accepts Mr. Menton.
Rescinding the EF doesn’t have to be difficult. You see, the EF itself is totally full of holes.
All EPA must do to make for a bullet-proof rescission is to cite some dozens of scientific papers in the fifteen years since the EF that collect evidence contradicting the hypothesis of catastrophic CO2-caused warming. Lots of very knowledgeable people stand ready to help, including the members of the CO2 Coalition, which is a collection of eminent scientists that consider the EF to be thoroughly flawed.
Claiming not to be overly optimistic, Mr. Menton has a prediction for us readers:
If the EF is rescinded with a well-reasoned regulatory action, the courts will have little to no ability to stop the Trump roll-back of all the Obama/Biden restrictions on fossil fuels and energy transition.
And after four years in which essentially all those restrictions have been undone, and in which the EPA has been swept clean of climate activists, the ability of the government ever again to try to force an unwanted energy transition will be gone for good.
At the Manhattan Contrarian, Mr. Menton lists all the people and organizations who participated in this effort on a pro bono basis.
If we have made a small contribution to rescuing the country from the Net Zero energy transition disaster, it was well worth it.
Readers of the Manhattan Contrarian also have weighed in CO2 inanity. Mr. Menton promises to write further about the fine print of the legal analysis.
;
If you’re willing to fight for Main Street America, click here to sign up for the Richardcyoung.com free weekly email.