The Rising Influence of Rising Affluence

[DewDiligence]

From the Business Roundtable report:

Energy and Environment.

…Mitigating greenhouse gases is a policy goal best left to Congress. However, in the absence of legislative action, the EPA has recently proposed a number of policies that regulate greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act. As the U.S. manufacturing sector continues to struggle and is shedding jobs overall, the EPA’s actions will impose additional expenses, create uncertainty and place U.S. companies at a competitive disadvantage compared with foreign firms.

Energy independence ultimately entails a combination of all viable resources, including oil and natural gas exploration. But recently, the Administration has issued sweeping restrictions on drilling in response to the Deepwater Horizon tragedy. The breadth of the Administration’s response should be promptly reconsidered as the Administration obtains definitive information. If proper procedures are followed, tragic events such as the Deepwater Horizon situation should not and do not occur. Delayed exploration and production of oil and gas and reduced access will diminish domestic supplies available to help meet U.S. needs. Moreover, each aspect of the moratorium will have an immediate negative impact on economic activity and thousands of jobs, both directly in the oil and gas industry and indirectly in numerous support industries and services. Much of this impact will be felt in the Gulf of Mexico region, where the economy and employment are already gravely suffering from the spill itself.