In last week’s edition of Corn E-Digest, I reported on a threat from Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), who stated that if Congress failed to pass a climate change bill, then the EPA would simply “regulate one.” Later in the week, the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) issued a statement announcing that it and 48 other farm groups “have joined together in urging the Senate to adopt a resolution that would prevent the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act without prior congressional approval.”

To read AFBF’s full press release, click here: http://www.fb.org/index.php?fuseaction=newsroom.newsfocus&year=2010&file=nr0519.html.

It’s a sad state of bureaucratic affairs when unelected officials can control carbon dioxide emissions, as AFBF President Bob Stallman points out in his recent statement to the press. “Virtually all of American agriculture is united in the belief that regulation of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases should be decided by Congress and not by a federal regulatory agency,” he writes.

According to Princeton University’s WordNet word search, the definition for carbon dioxide is: “A heavy odorless colorless gas formed during respiration and by the decomposition of organic substances; absorbed from the air by plants in photosynthesis.” Well, if EPA wants to control carbon dioxide, then excuse me for breathing (my definition for respiration) while alive and decomposing when I die!

It seems to me that if Congress allows EPA to take control of carbon dioxide emissions, then Congress will allow EPA to take control of life itself. Excuse me again – EPA is not God!

I hereby applaud AFBF and the other 48 farm groups for their stance on this issue and likewise denounce bureaucrats and politicians who support government control over my hot air!

Whether you agree or disagree about the need for a climate-change bill and EPA control over carbon dioxide, I’d be happy to consider your opinion on the topic. When writing, please let me know your name, where you farm or work, what your comment is and whether or not I have permission to use your comment in a future Corn E-Digest newsletter. You can contact me (John Pocock) at: [email protected].

You're also welcome to write to me if you have concerns or questions about this newsletter or if you have ideas on topics you’d like to see me write about for future issues. I look forward to hearing from you.