Usually when US states strike out at the federal government鈥檚 track record on environment issues it is to highlight its lack of action. Not so for Utah.
Previously, California has sued the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) over water and . And Massachusetts and 11 other states famously sued the EPA for not regulating industrial emissions.
Now Utah has done the opposite. In a , the state鈥檚 House of Representatives called on the US government to suspend efforts to cut industrial emissions until an investigation into climate science has been completed.
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The original text of the resolution mentioned 鈥渢he climate data conspiracy鈥�, a reference to the fallout from the leaked emails from the UK鈥檚 Climatic Research Unit, but this was removed in a later amendment. The resolution states that the messages reveal a 鈥渨ell organized鈥� effort to 鈥渕anipulate鈥� global temperature data.
Such conspiracy claims are not shared by climate scientists, who say the emails contain no evidence of an attempt to manipulate data. The scandal, popularly known as 鈥渃limategate鈥�, is currently being investigated in the UK by the House of Commons Science and Technology select committee.
Money worries
It may be worries about the local economy, rather than a concern for data integrity, that prompted the Utah resolution. The state generates over 95 per cent of its electricity from coal-fired power stations, and would face higher energy costs if carbon emissions were regulated.
Missouri, another coal-dependent state, is also considering resolutions calling for a suspension of greenhouse gas policies. As in Utah, some state politicians object to the EPA鈥檚 decision last December to declare that rising levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases pose a threat to human health. The decision opens the way for the agency to impose controls on the emissions of the gases.
鈥淚nstead of endorsing the EPA鈥檚 decision to protect public health and urging Congress to follow suit, these resolutions are asking our federal lawmakers to step aside and maintain the status quo,鈥� says LuCinda Hohmann of the , an advocacy group based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
