"Obama's Stealth War on Global Warming"
"Stymied by Congress, President Obama is staffing his administration with appointees ready to take aggressive action on climate change."
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As President Obama tries to fight global warming without any backing from a gridlocked Congress, he's using every weapon in his executive arsenal. His Environmental Protection Agency will soon roll out controversial regulations on carbon pollution from coal-fired power plants. He's told every Cabinet agency to look into ways it can use its authority to act on climate change. And now the administration is stocking the executive branch with an army of new appointees who have a history of working aggressively on climate issues and clean energy, often from leadership jobs at environmental advocacy groups.
It's not surprising to see a president name a top nominee—for Cabinet secretary, say—who has led the way on an issue the White House cares about. In his first term, for example, Obama named as his Energy secretary Steven Chu, a Nobel physicist who had devoted his career to fighting climate change. With the executive branch the only avenue for the president to make an impact on climate policy, the Obama administration is filling out the second and third tiers of agencies—influential workhorse positions such as chiefs of staff, assistant secretaries, and heads of regulatory commissions—with appointees just as devoted to the cause, with the expectation that they'll muscle through a climate and clean-energy agenda wherever they can.
The strategy is drawing cheers from environmentalists and fire from conservatives, who both agree that these behind-the-scenes positions have a sizable impact on shaping policy. "The president has made it … clear that he wants further action on climate to be a big part of his legacy," said Frank O'Donnell, president of Clean Air Watch. "He's not going to get cooperation from Congress, so the only way to carve out a legacy on climate is to have folks at federal agencies that can make things happen. Some of these jobs which no one's ever heard of are being filled by people who can make things happen."
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"Also raising eyebrows among conservatives is Obama's July appointment of Kevin Knobloch, former president of the Union of Concerned Scientists and a longtime player in the world of climate policy and advocacy, as the Energy Department's new chief of staff. "I cannot imagine a moment in history when we have had a window where the Department of Energy's mission has been more important," Knobloch said of the department's plans to toughen energy-efficiency standards and innovate ways to burn fossil fuels more cleanly."
http://www.nationaljournal.com/magazine/obama-s-stealth-war-on-global-warming-20130829
h/t http://theobamadiary.com/
[font color=blue]This is Posted in the Barack Obama Group[/font]
Mahalo President Obama!
[font color=blue]BOG[/font]
= new reply since forum marked as read
He (President Obama) just gave such a jolt to the green movement in financial investment.. the biggest in decades.. It was stunning after years of neglect.. even having Reagan remove the solar panels from the White House.. The right wing has been dedicated to anything that they can use up in the here and now.. forget about what the needs of future generations will be
http://green.tmcnet.com/topics/green/articles/50701-analysis-president-obamas-new-green-stimulus-law.htm
Great Green blast from the past, from your link..
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"President Barack Obama signed into law Tuesday a bill that is truly green in more ways than one. It is not only the most ambitious and arguably much needed economic stimulus measure since the Great Depression but is also one of the most far-reaching pieces of environmental legislation in decades.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) contains $787 billion of investments and tax cuts. Of this sum over $70 billion is directed to green activities including increasing energy efficiency, electricity grid modernization, renewal energy, mass transit and high-speed rail, and environmental cleanup.
There is also over $7 billion to expand broadband in rural areas. These provisions can be considered as green measures as they would enable more telework, distance learning, e-commerce, and telemedicine. Virtual travel uses less energy, alternatives to driving and taking transit, which consume more energy, leads to greater amounts of pollutants and consume larger areas of greenspace."
[font color=green] Planet Earth [/font]
So much damage has been done...but we are doing so much better in and investing in things that can make a difference in the future.
Frank O'Donnell has left out one point. Yes it will be a big part of our Presidents legacy. However, Obama wants this to be our legacy. America's legacy, not his own.
The strategy is drawing cheers from environmentalists and fire from conservatives, who both agree that these behind-the-scenes positions have a sizable impact on shaping policy. "The president has made it … clear that he wants further action on climate to be a big part of his legacy," said Frank O'Donnell, president of Clean Air Watch.
It is amazing to watch PBO find ways to help this Nation without the naysayers in congress. As Muhammad Ali once said.
"float like a butterfly and sting like a bee,"
That is our President right there! He moves so fast the GOP can not keep up with him!
Great thread Cha! Excellent in fact~
that. So many people just think in terms of the President's Legacy.. but, that isn't the way Obama wants it to be. He has always stated that it's about us too. He can lead and do a lot but we are all a huge part of our Progress. Including Health Care, Educaton, Human Rights, and yes, our Environmental Issues!
It is fascinating to watch PBO run circles around the party of "NO-
"
Mahalo for reminding us that Pres Obama's legacy is about us as well, she.. like the Globe held up by hands across the World.
[font color=green] Planet Earth[/font]
One People One Planet~
And thank you. Our President does nothing for himself, he does it for all of us.
Thanks Cha~
vitaly important our Earth's Health is to us. Mahalo~
[font color=green]To a smarter, Greener Planet, she~ [/font]