King Coal gets deposed

The EPA really needs to have its funding cut by 90%. It started out doing good work but it is now just a political tool. From US News & World Report:

Coal Regs Would Kill Jobs, Boost Energy Bills
Two new EPA pollution regulations will slam the coal industry so hard that hundreds of thousands of jobs will be lost, and electric rates will skyrocket 11 percent to over 23 percent, according to a new study based on government data.

Overall, the rules aimed at making the air cleaner could cost the coal-fired power plant industry $180 billion, warns a trade group.

�Many of these severe impacts would hit families living in states already facing serious economic challenges,� said Steve Miller, president of the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity. �Because of these impacts, EPA should make major changes to the proposed regulations before they are finalized,� he said.

And the reaction -- from The Hill:

AEP says it will close five coal plants to comply with EPA regs
Utility giant American Electric Power said Thursday that it will shut down five coal-fired power plants and spend billions of dollars to comply with a series of pending Environmental Protection Agency regulations.

The company�s dramatic plan to comply with the regulations could give Republicans and moderate Democrats ammunition in their ongoing fight against EPA's efforts to impose new regulations aimed at limiting greenhouse gas emissions and air pollutants including mercury and arsenic.

Rep. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) immediately pounced on AEP's announcement.

�This is a perfect example of the EPA implementing rules and regulations without considering the devastating impact they may have on local economies and jobs,� Capito said.

It is no longer about the environment, it is about the consolidation of power and the creation of a dependent under-class of people -- a permanent voting bloc. Welcome to the new world order...