WEBVTT

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GUEST SPEAKER: Dear
secretary of the interior,

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thank you for inviting
me to weigh in

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on this very important
counter study

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to and indefensible claim
by the heritage society.

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As you know, this
conservative organization

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is pushing for free enterprise
in limited government.

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So they're merely
trying to deregulate

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to support free enterprise
and to help their allies,

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including industry
to save some money.

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As you know, in 1970
the EPA was formed

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to control the extreme
pollution of water and air

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in this country.

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These conditions were causing
fish kills, bird [INAUDIBLE],,

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and having negative
effects on human health.

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[INAUDIBLE] control policy
suggests that clean [INAUDIBLE]

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were established, also
in 1970, to regulate

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the use of these pollutants.

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The goal was to protect the
ecosystem and human health

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for future generations.

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And so far, it's been
effective from the point

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of view of scientists and
environmental advocates.

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It's a success.

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Pollution has been
vastly reduced

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to [INAUDIBLE]
[? implementation ?]

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these policies and this is
a tremendous achievement,

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so why stop now is our argument.

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There are still extremely
endangered ecosystems

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in the country and
industries are constantly

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inventing new products that
have new negative effects

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on the environment that
we're not yet aware of.

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So the study we conduct
to challenge the heritage

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societies claims
will have four parts.

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First, we'll focus on
science benchmarks.

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We'll also focus
on topic opinion,

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propose an administrative
review of the EPA,

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and a review by the
Justice Department.

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So for our first pillar,
the scientific measurements

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will hire an outside team
of environmental scientists

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to evaluate air
and water quality

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and how it has
improved since 1970.

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Scientists must also
prove that threats

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to the health of
our environment,

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to our clean air and
water, still exists

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and that regulation of anything
should be expanded and improved

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and not reduced or terminated.

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We need to frame our study and
focus on scientific results

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to counter the
heritage societies

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focus on economic results.

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We will design a study based
on science and numbers,

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because that is how
you will measure

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the efficacy of a program
like the clean air act.

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So focus on how you
improve vehicle emissions,

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how efficient bird
have bounced back.

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And this will help
legitimate our study

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in the eyes of the
scientific community

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and we'll also involve
the scientific community.

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We can also come at
this from an angle that

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will satisfy the business
community and congress.

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We can require companies to
maintain certain air quality

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standards as a means
to spur innovation.

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We've been innovative
in this regard so far.

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We've invented cleaner
fuels, renewable energy

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and we believe that the American
people can invent even better,

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cleaner technologies
and the regulation

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will help inspire that.

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Our second component will
focus on the public stance

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on the issue of
environmental protection.

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We're in an unprecedented era
in environmental awareness

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and the public is
completely behind it.

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I'd like to bring your attention
to a very revealing ruling that

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just came out in the last
few weeks in Massachusetts.

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Two men used their lobster
boat to block a coal shipment

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from passing through
the channel on its way

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to Brayton Point Power Plant.

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The men were on trial
for several counts

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and faced several years
in jail and the judge

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ruled that he approved
the use of necessity

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as a defense for their actions.

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In order to use the
necessity defense,

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you have to prove that you were
in clear and imminent danger.

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And in this
instance, the defense

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argues the men in
their communities

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were in clear and imminent
danger of climate change.

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So the judge decreed they
had no legal alternative

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to protect themselves
and their communities

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other than to try to
block the coal shipment.

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So the prosecutors subsequently
dropped the charges.

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So obviously this is a
totally unprecedented case.

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This is an exciting time for
environmental progressives.

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Judges are going
rouge on this issue

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and they're allowing
people a lot of room

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to maneuver, to fight
environmental problems,

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so we want to design a
policy [INAUDIBLE] that

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involves the public energy
as much as possible.

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So we're going to
educate the public,

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we're going to use
some of our funding

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to organize conferences and
small community advisory

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committees.

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These committees will call small
meetings in their communities

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and discuss the EPA's
[INAUDIBLE] control policies

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and they can weigh
in on whether or not

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they think those policies
should continue at this time.

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This method will give
our study legitimacy

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in the eyes of the
public and in the eyes

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of congress, who depend
on the public for voting.

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I highly doubt a heritage
society did a public assessment

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or reached out to the
public in their review,

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so basically, we'll
get our study,

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that added legitimacy that we
involved the public opinion.

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And then, come election
time, the public

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will play a role in the
political evaluation

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of the heritage societies
policy suggestions.

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And we'll also ask the public
to consider who the heritage

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society is serving
in trying to overturn

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these important policies.

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The courts finally
ruled that the BP oil

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spill was the result of gross
negligence and so we can ask,

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are these the types of behaviors
the heritage society thinks

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we no longer need
to regulate against.

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OK.

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Third component, we're going
to play the business community

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into the heritage
society by holding

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an administrative
review of the EPA.

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They are arguing against the
efficiency of the program.

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The EPA has had some
organizational problems in

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the last few decades, so we're
going to go ahead and help them

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out with that and also better--

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organize better [? about ?]
EPA is good for everybody.

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And that will satisfy the
business community, also,

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to have some of
that what they see

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as wasteful practices reduced.

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Our fourth review
method, like I said,

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is to involve the
Justice Department

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and I'll remind you again of the
instance of the judge releasing

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the environmental activists
who blocked the coal barge.

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So the Justice
Department, as a whole,

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we think should take a stand
on this issue of the right

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to clean air and water,
so we're requesting

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a judicial review of the
constitutionality of removing

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[INAUDIBLE] policies
designed to protect

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the people and the environment.

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So in conclusion, I agree
with you, secretary,

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that the study by the
heritage society is bogus

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and we need to organize our
own review of command control

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policies that
highlight their value.

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PROFESSOR: Thank you.