Al Gore

Al Gore Slams Obama On Emissions Standards

Eric Kleefeld | September 7, 2011, 5:00PM

Former Vice President Al Gore, President Barack Obama

President Obama is now facing liberal criticism from a major name: Former Vice President Al Gore, the man who won the national popular vote in the disputed 2000 presidential election, and has since relaunched himself as a major environmental activist on the issue of global warming.

It is in some ways ironic to see Gore disparage a Democratic president from the left -- it was, after all, the left-wing spoiler campaign of Ralph Nader that cost him the electoral votes of Florida, thus handing the White House to George W. Bush.

Gore published a blog post on Wednesday, titled "Confronting Disappointment", criticizing the Obama administration for backing away from proposed smog regulations:

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Environment

Obama Smog Decision Will Leave In Place 'Legally Indefensible' Environmental Standard

Brian Beutler | September 2, 2011, 12:42PM

Image From Pichugin Dmitry / Shutterstock

President Obama pulled the plug Friday on a long-delayed environmental regulation that would have further limited industrial smog emissions, leaving in place an ozone standard that EPA administrator Lisa Jackson recently described as "legally indefensible." The development most likely means smog standards in many states will remain lower than they would have been if President George W. Bush's lax policy had been fully pursued.

The proposed limits have been under assault by congressional Republicans and the business community for months. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) recently called it "possibly the most harmful of all the currently anticipated Obama Administration regulations."

Obama's decision comes the same day new employment figures show the economy created zero net jobs in August.

What was the regulation, and what does it mean now that it's been scotched? In short, it means Bush-era smog standards, declared inadequate by government science advisers, will likely remain in effect until mid-decade if not longer.

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