Half-term, President Obama has fulfilled many of his environmental promises

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Mon Nov-15-10 09:05 PM
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Half-term, President Obama has fulfilled many of his environmental promises

From the Editor�s Desk at Deep Sea News: Obama and the Environment

By Dr. M, on November 15th, 2010

{snip}____ Within a short few months, President Obama seemed to exemplify a renewed commitment to the environment and reversal of Bush era politics. Needed policies, delayed during the Bush era, were quickly signed and put into effect. One of the best examples was the requirement for higher energy efficiency from appliances. On Inauguration Day, Obama blocked plans to reduce air quality standards and remove the gray wolf from the endangered species list.

Obama asked the EPA to reconsider granting California a waiver to impose their own stricter limits on carbon dioxide emissions from cars. Simultaneously, he signed a presidential memorandum to set new fuel efficiency standards from the current average of 27 mpg to 35 mpg by 2011. In February of 2009, the U.S. and Canada agreed to a joint initiative combating global warning. In March of 2009, when details of the new stimulus package surfaced, $59 billion in tax incentives and research funds of the $787 billion total stimulus package were earmarked for clean energy. This linking of the budget and environment is a welcome Obama trademark . . .

When the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act eventually did pass more than $80 billion was dedicated to the development of renewable/clean energy, smarter electrical grids, and fuel efficiency technologies all with the goal of producing green jobs. Obama also fulfilled his campaign promise of committing the Federal Government to lead by example promising a 28% reduction in greenhouse emissions by 2020. In May 2009, Obama announced fuel economy and gas emissions standards for cars and trucks including the first standards for previously ignored medium- and heavy-duty cars and trucks. A task force identified key barriers to making homes more energy efficient. The Recovery Through Retrofit program will seek to eliminate these barriers, chiefly the lack of straightforward information for consumers on their home�s energy use and how to improve it.

The Obama administration also worked toward protecting, conserving, and restoring U.S. lands. Obama in early 2009 signed the broad reaching Omnibus Public Land Management Act designating 2 million acres in 9 states as wilderness, creating new trails, renewing commitment to protection of historic battlefields and National Parks, protecting watersheds, cleaning up groundwater, and making efforts to revitalizing our fisheries. Obama also signed a presidential memorandum establishing the America�s Great Outdoors Initiative to support communities in conserving outdoor spaces and promoting public interest in the outdoors. To restore habitats, he established a group to coordinate and improve restoration of the Gulf of Mexico coastal regions, and outline near-term actions to restore the California Bay Delta and the Chesapeake Region. Obama also dedicated $475 million for Great Lakes restoration, the most invested into the lakes in two decades.

With regard to climate change, Obama hit some well-known stumbling blocks but managed some advancement. On one campaign promise, meager progress was made turning the U.S. into an international leader. In regards to the international community, the U.S. renewed interest in the Major Economies Forum; moved toward eliminating fossil fuel subsides; formed new partnerships with China, India, Mexico, and Canada; and begin phasing down HFCs. For the first time, the U.S. will catalogue greenhouse gas emission from large emissions sources. Thirteen federal agencies are now collaborating on the U.S. Global Change Research Program to reduce green gas emissions and grow a clean energy economy. Obama signed an executive order calling on a task force to develop within one year recommendations for adapting to climate change impacts.

But many herald the most important contribution of the Obama administration to be the American Clean Energy and Security Act: (http://lcv-ftp.org/scorecard09/overview09.html)

In the most sweeping accomplishment � not just of 2009 but perhaps in a generation � the House passed the landmark American Clean Energy and Security Act in June by a vote of 219-212. This vote marked the first time that comprehensive global warming and clean energy legislation passed either chamber of Congress. The House-passed bill, while not perfect, would reduce global warming pollution by 17% by 2020 and 83% by 2050 and includes complementary clean energy measures to help meet those emissions reductions.

read more (misses, failures, remaining challenges): http://deepseanews.com/2010/11/from-the-editors-desk-obama-and-the-environment/

White House outline of accomplishments: http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/energy-and-environment