texas vs the big bad epa

A new opinion piece in the San Antonio Express News discusses how the EPA's new pollution rule will achieve their goal of harming Texas' economy in every way possible. The article becomes increasingly melodramatic the further into it you read. The author Bryan Shaw discusses how the rule is specifically "aimed at cutting Texas jobs, cutting Texas economic growth, increasing Texas energy costs and harming Texas energy security." He believes that the rule cuts Texas' due process rights by not providing proper notice amongst other things. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality was the underdog and submitted comments because the big bad EPA told every other state but menacingly left Texas out of the loop. Shaw states that Texas was included in the new rule even though they did not cross the "contribution threshold". Apparently the rule will impose too high of costs on coal fueled power plants. If these plants have to shut down it will cause blackouts and therefore extreme health risks to everybody dependent on the only "reliable energy" in Texas, because all the other sources of energy (if you can even call them that) stand no chance to provide power. All of this will eventually lead to increased energy costs, loss of jobs, and raised prices on just about everything. Shaw is extremely concerned about how all these increases will affect the elderly and the poor of Texas. You almost start to feel bad for poor little Texas and than you get to the bottom and see who exactly Bryan Shaw is, the chairman of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. As soon as one sees this it is clear where the authors real intentions lie, with the money. He makes it sound as if the EPA singled out Texas with the goal of destroying our economy. The author's audience has to be the republicans who pouted and cried foul the entire time the EPA was trying to prepare states for the new rule. God forbid the government tries to save us from ourselves. I understand why Shaw would find the regulations to impose on our freedom, they will make Texas less inviting for companies to build their giant plants that spew chemicals in the air. That means less money deposited into Mr.Shaw's pocket out of appreciation for scaring off the Evil Sith Overlord, known to us as the EPA. To see the other side of the spectrum one should read a editorial from the Dallas Morning News about Texas' whining due to the new policy. The article also discusses the positives of the new rule that Shaw forgot to mention in his article. Maybe if Rick Perry would have scheduled his day of prayer a little sooner he could have prayed the EPA out of existence, his prayers for rain came true didn't they...Alas in the end Texas is going to have to learn the consequences of procrastination. The same to Mr.Shaw who can write as many whiny articles as he wants, The EPA won he lost and now in exchange for a little cost, future children of Texan's may avoid the effects of our careless pollution.