State of Virginia Archives: on Environment

Don Beyer: Humane treatment of animals is element of civilized society

Ed Gillespie: OpEd: Lobbied for company that received 50 EPA warnings

Robert Sarvis: No open space funding, but environmental harm regulations ok

A: No.

Q: Do you support enacting environmental regulations aimed at reducing the effects of climate change?

A: Yes. All energy sources should be subject to strict and strong liability rules for environmental harms. This includes air and water pollution, oil spills, gas spills, death of migratory birds, etc, etc. Doing so adds in the external costs to the price of energy paid by consumers. Once we do that properly, the government should be agnostic with respect to energy sources, not subsidizing or arbitrarily focusing on any particular source or technology. Importantly, any fees or taxes raised MUST NOT become another source of revenue by revenue-hungry legislators, but MUST be offset by tax reductions elsewhere.

Ken Cuccinelli: Kill rats around Occupy DC camps; don't move them to VA

Cuccinelli has been sharply critical of the Occupy movement; he has discussed published reports about an increase in rat populations around Occupy DC camps. Then he's turned to the DC pest-control law and painted it as an example of ridiculous regulation. The DC law "doesn't allow them to kill the dang rats," Cuccinelli said in a Jan. 13 interview. "They have to capture them in families." Cuccinelli said the law requires relocation of the trapped rats [including] setting them free in Virginia.

The law cited by Cuccinelli does prohibit using various traps to catch some kinds of urban wildlife. The law also calls for catching animals alive and relocating whole pest families when possible. But here's the catch: The pardon does not extend to rats. The first page of the law specifically exempts "commensal rodents"--common rats and mice that pilfer human food. So Cuccinelli got it wrong.

Bob McDonnell: $5 million for open space land conservation

We are also making progress in restoring the jewel that is the Chesapeake Bay. Striped bass production was at an all-time record high in 2011, the blue crab population is at its second highest level since 1997 and eagle populations are up. The recent budget surpluses have allowed us to contribute over $85 million more to improving water quality. This means more assistance to Virginia's farmers and a significant contribution to the Water Quality Improvement Fund.

Ken Cuccinelli: EPA should stand for "the Employment Prevention Agency"