It's Way Past Time to Revoke the Pseudo-Scientific EPA Endangerment Finding on CO2, Which Was A Cruel Joke on Man

Guest Post from Dick Storm.

The EPA Anti-American Endangerment Finding endangers more than electricity supply for the future!

A prescient warning of the threat to western civilization was written by Vaclav Klaus about 20 years ago, in his book “Blue Planet in Green Shackles, What is Endangered, Climate or Freedom.” Klaus grew up behind the Iron Curtain and described the “Greens” as being worse than the Communists.

Coal as a source of primary energy for electric power generation has many unique advantages. Coal is an American Treasure that should be utilized.

Amongst the many advantages of coal plants are two facts:

1. When they are maintained properly, they run in all weather conditions 24/7. As shown on the example below, 22% of America’s electricity was being generated during normal winter conditions by an aging coal fleet, and

2. Coal fuel to provide the primary energy to generate steam for the turbine-generator can be stored on-site with weeks or even months of supply.

Modern clean coal plants are proven, robust, long-lasting, dispatchable, use a reasonable and stable cost fuel that is abundant and of high quality from within the USA. An especially important advantage is that they have inherent on-site energy storage, unlike natural gas plants that are dependent on primary energy provided “just in time” from pipeline gas.

To be clear, I favor a balanced generation portfolio that includes natural gas, coal, nuclear, Hydro and some renewables. However, for reliable electricity delivery, about 80% or more of nameplate generation capability should be dispatchable 24/7. Consider the graph below:

Electric Power Generation, January 21, 2025 During a Polar Vortex

Electricity generation by fuel, at 9:00 PM this date was 22% coal fuel. The largest fuel source was natural gas at about 45% followed by 15% nuclear, 8% wind and 5% hydro. Total generation was 633,162 MW. This is better than what I would consider a balanced generation portfolio, with about 87% dispatchable. This balanced generation portfolio should continue with the building of new clean coal plants to replace the older coal plants that have been shut down.

America’s future depends on reliable, affordable, dispatchable and secure primary energy. Coal should continue to provide at least 20% of the primary energy needed to sustain our economy and high quality of life with a balanced generation portfolio.

The “path to net zero” carbon is finally changing. However, the “War on Coal” included crushing (anti-American) EPA Rules and “woke” electric utility management (also among some state legislatures and RTO’s) designed to force a shut down of the existing coal plants before 2050, many before 2030.

America had over 317,000 MW of coal power generation capacity in 2010. Today it is about half that with over 125,000 MW of coal plant capacity shut down. Why? Largely because of the Obama administration’s extreme activist EPA corrupted science with its 2009 “Endangerment Finding.”

That was the culmination of many anti-coal regulations created by the EPA and other Federal agencies. I have written before on the background of EPA Influencers and the fact that the excessive attacks on first coal and then all hydrocarbons were not based on protecting human health or the environment.

These regulations were strictly political and I might add, these regulations are sinister and anti-American. Read about EPA Influencers here, here, here, here, here, here , here and here.

Since the 2009 EPA Endangerment Finding, not only was 125,000 MW of coal plant capacity shut down, but most of those shut down have been demolished_.

The newest major utility scale (over 500 MW) coal plants were started up about 2013. That is a dozen years ago. Since then the supply-chain of design, manufacturing, maintenance, parts and field services has been sharply reduced.

I know, because I was involved for 50+ years in the power generation equipment and services supply-chain. I have many friends and relatives either retired or still working in that important supply-chain.

When referring to the importance of business flow to keep the supply-chain healthy and capable, I am reminded of the Three Mile Island accident in 1979. That pretty much killed or at least mortally wounded the nuclear steam system supply-chain in the USA. Did you ever wonder why Plant Vogtle at Georgia Power took ten years and over 35 billion dollars of ratepayers’ money to construct? The broken U.S. nuclear component supply chain is one reaso, in addition to excessive government regulations. Some safety regulations after TMI (the 1979 Three Mile Island incident) were justified, many not.

I cite the nuclear power supply chain as an example of what is happening right before our eyes with the coal power plant supply chain. There is time to save it. How?

Drastically overhaul the Federal government regulations and especially, the 2009 Obama-era EPA Endangerment Finding!

Here is what Ken Haapala, President of the Science and Environmental Policy Project has to say about the Endangerment Finding. The following are excerpts of his TWTW article, starting with a quote from Dr. William Happer and much more in the original document:

Happer:

The message I want you to understand, which practically no one really understands, is that doubling CO2 makes almost no difference. Doubling would replace the black curve by the red curve. On the basis of this, we are supposed to give up our liberties. We are supposed to give up the gasoline engines of our automobiles. … Do not let anyone convince you that that is a good bargain. It is a terrible bargain. The doubling actually does make a little difference. It decreases the radiation to space by about three watts per square meters. In comparison, the total radiation to space is about 300 watts per square meter. So, it is a one percent effect—it is actually a little less than that, because that is with no clouds. Clouds make everything even less threatening.

Haapala continues:

Probably the most disgraceful example of bureaucratic hubris this century is EPA’s finding that greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and water vapor are pollutants. Both gases are essential for life on Earth. Without water vapor, nights would be too cold to support growing plant life. As Happer states above water vapor “keeps Earth’s surface temperature warmer than it would be (by about 20 or 30 degrees) [°C or about 35 to 55°F.]”

The Endangerment Finding had no compelling physical evidence. It is based on projections from global climate models which overstate the actual warming of the atmosphere by two to three times. Further, the models are based upon surface-air temperature measurements, not on atmospheric temperature measurements. It is in the atmosphere that the greenhouse effect occurs. Further, as the CO2 Coalition advocates, carbon dioxide is essential for all complex life on Earth. As Happer discusses above, it is key for creating carbohydrates, sugars, which allows all plants to grow and are the food source for animal life as well.

As John Tyndall in England wrote in 1875 (quoted from Happer) water vapor is an:

“Aqueous vapor is a blanket, more necessary to the vegetable life of England than clothing is to man. Remove for a single summer night the aqueous vapor from the air which overspreads this country, and you would assuredly destroy every plant capable of being destroyed by a freezing temperature. The warmth of our fields and gardens would pour itself unrequited into space, and the sun would rise upon an island held fast in the iron grip of frost.”

In its hubris, the EPA ignores this and similar work to deliver the Endangerment Finding.

Fortunately, the Trump administration has already opened the Endangerment Finding to questioning. As Francis Menton, an attorney who was involved in appealing the Endangerment Finding writes:

“The first couple of days of the new Trump administration have seen the President sign a blizzard of Executive Orders. These provide more material than a humble solo blogger like me can ever comment on comprehensively. So, I’ll just have to start with one particular item that I am deeply familiar with: the EPA’s so-called Endangerment Finding of December 2009.

I have seen differing counts of the number of Trump’s first-day EOs. ABC News here counts 42. One of the most consequential has the title “Unleashing American Energy.” There is a large amount of important material in this EO. In overall summary, it directs the reversal of all of the Biden administration efforts to restrict and suppress the production and development of America’s energy resources. But one provision, I would argue, is important above all the rest. That is Section 6(f), which directs a reconsideration of the so-called Endangerment Finding (EF) of December 2009. That provision of the EO reads as follows:

(f) Within 30 days of the date of this order, the Administrator of the EPA, in collaboration with the heads of any other relevant agencies, shall submit joint recommendations to the Director of OMB on the legality and continuing applicability of the Administrator’s findings, “Endangerment and Cause or Contribute Findings for Greenhouse Gases Under Section 202(a) of the Clean Air Act,” Final Rule, 74 FR 66496 (December 15, 2009).

This provision is of overriding importance because, as long as the Endangerment Finding remains on the books, it gives a license to the courts, and to activist left-wing judges anywhere in the federal system, to enjoin and undo all the other de-regulatory efforts of this and other energy-related EOs. However, if the EF is rescinded with a well-reasoned and well-supported basis, then all the other energy-related initiatives will have a far clearer path to success.”

Menton gives a solid account of the background of the Endangerment Finding to which TWTW would add that SEPP was a party to the appeal in conjunction with CEI. It was based on limited knowledge shortly after the finding was announced. In addition to the damage that the Endangerment Finding would do, the eventual thrust of the appeal was our model vs. your model.

This was turned down by the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Menton was involved in a second appeal starting in 2017 that was turned down by the Supreme Court. Today, differences between the role of CO2 for human welfare, and the claim that CO2 is a pollutant are more glaring. They can be stated as our physical evidence vs. your speculation from models that are wrong.

Of course, huge, vested interests will object to the Trump administration using physical evidence to overturn the Endangerment Finding. According to an article in the Hill, “4 major climate, energy moves included in Trump’s Day 1 executive orders”, Michael Gerrard, the founder of Columbia Law School’s Sabin Center for Climate Change Law said:

“that if the administration is successful in overturning the endangerment finding, it would be ‘devastating’ because ‘it’s the basis for almost all of EPA’s actions on climate change.’”

We shall see what develops over the next 30 days or so.”

Conclusions:

1. Coal use in the world has grown each year since the Industrial Revolution and in 2024 provided the fuel for more electricity generation than any other source. The EPA War on Coal is anti-American and is harming America’s productive capacity. Coal use and U.S. GDP parallel each other 1970-2010. Also, the lowest cost power was from states using mostly coal fuel for electricity generation. ₍₁₇₎

2. The U.S. coal plant design, and manufacturing supply-chain has been weakened by lack of business since the 2009 EPA Endangerment Finding.

3. The nonscientific, politically driven EPA Endangerment Finding on CO2 is in-fact, endangering U.S. productive capacity.

4. Reasonable cost, reliable, dispatchable electricity is the life-blood of a modern economy. Coal fuel should remain part of a balanced generation portfolio.

5. The “War on Coal” has been a war on American manufacturing and America’s productive capacity.

6. America’s air has been cleaned of the six major pollutants that the EPA was launched to correct 1970-2009.

7. Carbon dioxide is not a pollutant

8. The “War on Carbon” by the leftist driven, anti-American bureaucrats in the EPA is a “War on American Freedoms,” not only an electricity reliability issue.

Recommendations:

1. Eliminate the EPA Rules placed on coal plants since 2009, including the Endangerment Finding.

2. Eliminate the weaponization of the EPA to pick winners and losers of energy production.

3. Downsize the EPA to only provide sufficient numbers of bureaucrats to sustain the original mission of regulating the six major criteria pollutants that affect human health; sulfur, lead, oxides of nitrogen, carbon monoxide, particulate matter, and ozone.

4. Provide incentives for design and construction of new clean coal plants to replace the 125,000 MW of coal plant capacity shut down since 2009.

Respectfully submitted and may God Bless and protect President Trump and the new EPA Head, Lee Zeldin and Elon Musk as they work to drain the Washington, DC swamp. President Trump, Elon Musk, Lee Zeldin and all of Trump’s Cabinet have my full support!

See original post here for full story, references, and sources.

#NetZero #NaturalGas #Electricity #Coal #ClimateChange #Nuclear #Electrification #EndangermentFinding #EPA #Obama #CoalPlants