Where’s Pruitt’s Red-Team Debate?

E&E News talks to Myron Ebell about the apparently stalled efforts of Pruitt’s EPA: 

“My impression is that the reason this has been slowed down is because there are questions to be resolved about how the thing is launched, where it’s administered and how it proceeds,” said Myron Ebell, director of the Center for Energy and Environment at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. “My impression is that the White House is receptive to doing it but is not receptive to starting it next week.”

Ebell said in an interview, “I don’t think that EPA would be a credible place to lead the effort.” He said there’s a political danger that if the debate is housed in the wrong place, “it will not have sufficient credibility with the public.”

Ebell said his priority is credibility, rather than speed.

“We’re not as concerned about getting it launched this week or next month,” he said. “Once you’ve started it, it’s going to be very difficult to correct things that have been done in the wrong way.”

Of course, if the red team leads to an attempt to unravel the endangerment finding, it could take years. That would include lengthy court battles that could stretch well beyond the 2020 presidential election.

“Sure, but it would probably be concluded in the second Trump term,” Ebell said. “Everything takes time.”

Read the full article at E&E News here.