President Bush's call for climate the other day hasn't been very widely lauded. Oxfam America has issued one of the stronger criticisms, saying the plan "ignores reality." Echoing Sen. Barbara Boxer's (D-California) statement that the initiative was "worse than doing nothing," Oxfam says it "could make matters worse." Remember, details on just how Bush plans to halt greenhouse gas emissions growth in the U.S. by 2025 were not provided on Wednesday when the president announced the plan.

One issue that Oxfam points out in their press release on the topic (pasted after the jump) is biofuels. Just as Europe is having second thoughts about biofuels, Oxfam sounds a dire warning that non-food sources of ethanol need to be encouraged. Well, duh.

U-turn. Waking up. Flip flop. Call it what you want (the Washington Times, headed by the very strange Sun Myung Moon, called it "changing course"), but the White House might be getting ready to call on Congress to pass a bill that deals with global warming. According to the Mooney Times (the only paper that seems to have talked to anyone - every other source online just references the Times article), White House officials are fearing a "regulatory nightmare" - thanks to those lawsuits over the EPA's ability to regulate greenhouse gases, for example - if they don't pass a law quickly. White House spokesperson Dana Perino said the regulations were headed into "train wreck" territory. One anonymous official said that the administration hopes that "the debate over [global warming] is over, and it is time to do something." O rly?

The Times writes that Republicans in Congress apparently think the White House is "making a mistake" by going down this road. Funny, they didn't speak up all the other times mistakes were made.

[Source: Washington Times, ]

As TalkingPointsMemo put it, "no Bush Administration official, current or former, can hold a candle to EPA chief Stephen Johnson when it comes to chutzpah." Why would TPM say something like this? Well, do you remember the Supreme Court's decision that the EPA would, indeed, need to regulate vehicle greenhouse-gas emissions? It happened exactly one year ago today. Since that time, the EPA has found ways to slow down the process and Johnson has now come up with an unhelpful scheme to delay any action. Seriously delay.

WardsAuto reports that by opening up the decision to public comments, Johnson "could delay regulation until as late as 2009." Two years to take action on cleaner air? That's a Bush Administration official for ya. U.S. Rep. John Dingell (D-MI), who's no fan of regulating automakers, said, "I recognize that the current Clean Air Act may not be the best mechanism for regulating greenhouse gases. But it is puzzling and disappointing that the Bush Admin. hasn't offered an alternative or joined the effort to design and enact comprehensive climate-change legislation." When the Dingellsaurus is on your case for not taking action on climate change, you're a rare breed.

[Source: WardsAuto, TalkingPointsMemo]