As reported in The Atlantic Monthly 3/27/09

EPA could draft a rule on carbon dioxide that contains language allowing it to be superseded by Congress when it

Keeping it Green

passes a cap-and-trade system or an outright tax on carbon emissions.

EPA would therefore be able to regulate CO2 without delay; if Congress failed to act, the EPA rule would stay in effect.  The regulations could be written in a way that they tighten over time, thereby giving Congress (and industry) a political and economic incentive to supercede them. If Congress doesn’t act on climate change by, say, December of 2009, the Obama administration will face significant international pressure at Copenhagen to show its work. And at that point, the administration may well threaten to ask EPA to draft a rule, which could spur Congress into acting in 2010.

Writing Prompts

• How will this story outcome affect your customers?
• What advice do you have for clients who’ll be affected?
• Are you engaged in the political process?   To what end?  Do you want specific input from clients?
• What experience do you have with changing regulations that will inform how you’ll react to changes in this story?
• Prove you’ve got the expertise to handle anything that comes down the political/regulatory pipeline by citing case studies of your work.