Reading the coal ashes

Like reading the tea leaves. I can't. But here's my take on the latest big shift in the EPA:

Yep, Sheriff Barack is in town and enviro groups are falling over themselves to find new ways to jazz up the story. Here's the latest: The EPA has turned down plans for a coal plant in South Dakota at the last minute. Says the state didn't do enough to regulate for pollutants like sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide and greenhouse gases. 

So the story is, this is a major shift, since there's a new president in office. And as the story goes, all new coal plant permits will now be under the microscope of Captain Planet. Goodbye coal plants, hello wind and solar magic.

Uh huh. Barack has been in office for about five days. He issued some executive orders to freeze pending regulations and pledged more openness in government. His pick for EPA chief was confirmed Friday. This isn't Barack-related. The letter was sent the day before Lisa Jackson was given the nod. And the EPA didn't reject this permit. They aren't requiring CO2 controls. All they want is for the permit to be revised for SO2 and NOx. 

Enviro groups (and the media) need to calm the heck down. Give it time, people. Don't jump the gun before Janie gets it out of the bag. Every time an enviro group makes a big deal out of something like this, they hurt their cause. 

- Green Mullet.