Christie Whitman Is A Flaming Hypocrite On Climate Change
Whitman Set Back EPA Regulation of Greenhouse Gases By Over a Decade
Whitman is actually WORSE THAN TRUMP on CLIMATE CHANGE
Former NJ Governor Christie Whitman just authored an Op-Ed that argued that politicians should be judged based on their record, whether they “produced results”. Whitman wrote:
During my time as both governor of New Jersey and administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, I knew that I’d be judged by my actions. All the speeches and public appearances in the world won’t convince people you’ve done your job unless you produce results.
That’s how we need to judge our elected officials when it comes to climate change.
We agree.
And that’s why we must call her out – again – for remarkable hypocrisy.
I’ve written about Whitman several times to set the public record straight on Whitman’s “results” – from her overall “Open for business” environmental record, her regulatory rollback policy, her climate policy, her nuclear industry shilling, her penchant for self promotional PR to mask bad policy, her coverup of science regarding risks to women from toxic heavy metal mercury in freshwater fish, her racist “stop and frisk” episode, and perhaps most shamefully, her actions as EPA administrator after 9/11.
For today, I will focus exclusively on climate change, as I did in a prior post, see:
I’ll do that in this short note to Star Ledger editorial page editor Tom Moran, whom I assume is responsible for giving Whitman the Op-Ed platform.
I strongly doubt that Moran will honor my request for equal time.
Tom – Are you aware of the following facts, established in the public record, about Whitman’s own actions on climate change. I’lll keep it real simple. If you want details, excerpts, and links to EPA documents and the applicable US Supreme Court decision, see this:
1. Whitman, as NJ Gov., had a legal counselor named Bob Fabricant.
2. Whitman took Fabricant with her to Washington as EPA Administrator. Fabricant was named EPA Counsel.
3. Fabricant, at Whitman’s direction, wrote a legal opinion that reversed the Clinton administration EPA’s legal opinion regarding whether greenhouse gases were a regulated pollutant under the federal Clean Air Act. Here it is, you can read it:
http://www.craig-environmental-law.com/forms/Ch4_MassvEPA5_RobertFabricantMemo_Aug2003.pdf
4. Clinton’s legal view was YES, setting the stage for EPA regulation. Fabricant reversed that and said NO.
5. Fabricant’s opinion was cited, criticized, and reversed by the US Supreme Court in the groundbreaking Massachusetts decision.
6. The effect of Whitman/Fabricant’s actions was to delay EPA regulation of greenhouse gas emissions by over a decade.
7. Trump has just now proposed repeal and replacement of Obama Clean Power Plan and repeal of vehicle fuel economy standards – two major EPA regulatory actions on greenhouse gas emissions. But even Trump’s legal analysis finds that GHG are regulated pollutants.
Thus, Whitman is actually WORSE THAN TRUMP on CLIMATE CHANGE.
With that kind of record, how could you possibly give her a platform?
Can I have equal time to set the record straight?
[End Note: On Whitman’s record, no need to take my word for it. Skeptics can read Whitman’s STARR Report (see p. 46 summary) “Strategy to Advance Regulatory Reform” (Department of State, Office of Business Ombudsman, July 1995) and read Whitman’s first State of The State address for examples of her no holds barred assault on DEP and regulation. Whitman abolished the Office of Environmental Prosecutor via Executive Order #9 and created the anti-regulatory Business Ombudsman’s Office via Executive Order #15) Whitman sought to roll back stricter NJ state standards to federal minimums via Executive Order #27. These are just a few of Whitman’s attacks that have been expanded upon by Gov. Christie and embraced by Gov. Murphy.
Full disclosure: I was fired by Whitman DEP Commissioner Bob Shinn for blowing the whistle on Whitman’s efforts to lie to the public and suppress science and derail regulation regarding health risks of mercury in in freshwater fish. Surely, I have many axes to grind. That’s why all of the above is supported by links to the official documents.
Of course, with the exception of the Stop and Frisk episode, virtually none of this can be found on Whitman’s Wikipedia page, which has been scrubbed.
But you can find all this – and more – in the transcript of the US Senate Environment Committee’s confirmation hearing on Whitman for EPA Administrator. And don’t miss my friend Bill Neil’s testimony.]