The EPA- here it comes!

Getting ready for a wave of coal-plant shutdowns  "The regulations, they say, will cost utilities up to $129 billion and force them to retire one-fifth of coal capacity. Given that coal provides 45 percent of the country’s power, that means higher electric bills, more blackouts and fewer jobs. The doomsday scenario has alarmed Republicans in the House, who have been scrambling to block the measures. Environmental groups retort that the rules will bring sizeable public health benefits, and that industry groups have been exaggerating the costs of environmental regulations since they were first created."  Check out this timeline.

But how will we be able to charge up our Chevy Volts?

Tunnel Dweller's hometown of Garibaldi, Oregon before the EPA struck

The Garibaldi mill today.

Energy prices on rise.

Utilities warn of higher rates because of pollution rules  "The new rule has been in development for several years but the first phase of compliance hits utilities in 2012. WPS said it won't have time to install pollution controls by next year at its plants, but will be able to comply by purchasing credits from other utilities that have cut emissions."

Via Drudge

States Start Realizing that the Obama EPA is Threatening Their Economies (Update: Texas Hits Peak Demand)  "I’ve written quite a bit about the Obama EPA’s regulatory assault on Texas, mainly because I happen to live in Texas. The fact is, the EPA is chipping away at 26 states and their economies via the cross-state rule and the Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT) rule. The MACT rule alone could force enough power plant shutdowns to cost 30 to 70 gigawatts of power (one gigawatt powers about 750.000 homes). Some of the targeted states are starting to wake up to the threat: rate hikes, lost power production leading to outages, lost jobs, worse economies. Here’s a sample of reaction in states beyond the Lone Star."