A note of light amid the gloom

I know you've heard all about this, but it's good news so I wanted to give it a quick mention. The Washington Post reported on Thursday that

President Bush's bid to rewrite the nation's air pollution laws ground to a halt in Congress Wednesday when Republicans were unable to overcome objections in the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee that the bill would weaken central pillars of environmental protection.

The setback dealt a body blow to the administration's highly promoted plan and handed a victory to environmental groups that viewed the "Clear Skies" bill as rolling back safeguards at the behest of industry interests.

Interestingly, one of the things that produced the deadlock was the contention of Committee Chair James Inhofe (R-1805) that global warming is a "hoax" and his consequent refusal to have the legislation address it. I never thought I'd be grateful for ignorant fanaticism, but there you go.

The EPA is issuing new rules about air pollution but they should be based on the existing laws, not the changes the Shrubberies sought. Still, they need to be examined closely; it would not be the first time the White House (and not just this White House) tried to gain through regulation what it could not gain through law.

Footnote: Just FYI, James Jeffords (I-VT) and Lincoln Chafee (R-RI) joined committee Dems to produce the 9-9 tie on the bill.