EPA’s Illegal Rule, Junk Food Lawsuits and Hurricane Preparedness
The Environmental Protection Agency moves to limit greenhouse gas restrictions to only large industrial sources.
Anti-obesity campaigners agitate for taxes and legal restrictions on foods high in sugar and fat.
Gov. Charlie Crist urges Floridians to plan for hurricane season by declaring September to be “Florida Preparedness Month.”
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1. ENVIRONMENT
The Environmental Protection Agency moves to limit greenhouse gas restrictions to only large industrial sources.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Senior Fellow Marlo Lewis on how the EPA is playing fast and loose with the law:
“EPA is proposing an illegal rule. They are presuming – on their own authority – to amend the Clean Air Act. It turns out that CEI was correct all along – that EPA cannot regulate carbon dioxide without grave risks to the U.S. economy unless it plays lawmaker and amends the Clean Air Act, which is a clear violation of the separation of powers.”
2. HEALTH
Anti-obesity campaigners agitate for taxes and legal restrictions on foods high in sugar and fat.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: General Counsel Sam Kazman on the strategy of suing food companies for causing obesity:
“If obesity lawsuits succeed, they will turn all Americans into ‘victims,’ incapable of bearing responsibility for personal choices. Such lawsuits may benefit trial lawyers, but they’ll hurt consumers on limited budgets who will be forced to pay higher food prices. Health control activists hope that obesity lawsuits will be a replay of the tobacco wars. Unfortunately, the anti-tobacco campaign failed to produce big health gains, but it did enrich trial lawyers and harm our democratic system.”
3. SAFETY
Gov. Charlie Crist urges Floridians to plan for hurricane season by declaring September to be “Florida Preparedness Month.”
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Florida Insurance Project Director Christian Cámara on Crist’s uneven record on emergency planning:
“I commend Governor Charlie Crist for trying to raise public awareness regarding the dangers Florida faces, especially with regard to hurricanes, but more needs to be done. Unfortunately, his concern for preparedness must not been foremost on his mind earlier this year when he decided to eliminate all funding from the My Safe Florida Home program—the one government initiative that actually helped Floridians prepare their homes and fortify them against hurricanes.”
Listen to LibertyWeek, the CEI podcast, here.