Many green organizations cheered with joy about the potential “change” that newly inaugurated president, Barack Obama, had promised the country. Environmentalists for years have hoped for a day when their issues and voices would be heard and acted upon.
How far has President Obama‘s plan for green living come thus far?
“So we have a choice to make. We can remain one of the world’s leading importers of foreign oil, or we can make the investments that would allow us to become the world’s leading exporter of renewable energy. We can let climate change continue to go unchecked, or we can help stop it. We can let the jobs of tomorrow be created abroad, or we can create those jobs right here in America and lay the foundation for lasting prosperity.”
– President Obama, March 19, 2009
Many green organizations cheered with joy about the potential “change” that newly inaugurated president, Barack Obama, had promised the country. Environmentalists for years have hoped for a day when their issues and voices would be heard and acted upon. But almost nine months into his term, has the president held true to his promises of moving America in a greener direction?
According to grist.org, Mark Longabaugh, Senior Vice President for Public Affairs at League of Conservation Voters, states that Obama is “by far one of the most compelling and knowledgeable politicians on the environment I’ve ever sat in a room with. I’ve been playing national politics for more than 20 years and I quite literally can’t remember one person I’ve met — even on a national level — who was more in command of facts, more eloquent, and more passionate on these issues than Sen. Obama.”
Jack Darin, who is the director of the Sierra Club’s Illinois chapter, has worked with Obama on a number of these issues. “He’s an incredibly quick study. He’s not a scientist, but remarkably adept at analyzing the details of complex environmental issues, asking the right questions, and ultimately making the right policy decision for public interest,” said Darin.
The Progressfrom www.whitehouse.com
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act included more than $60 billion in clean energy investments that will jump-start our economy and build the clean energy jobs of tomorrow, including:
$11 billion for a bigger, better, and smarter grid that will move renewable energy from the rural places it is produced to the cities where it is mostly used, as well as for 40 million smart meters to be deployed in American homes.
$5 billion for low-income home weatherization projects.
$4.5 billion to green federal buildings and cut our energy bill, saving taxpayers millions of dollars.
$6.3 billion for state and local renewable energy and energy efficiency efforts.
$600 million in green job training programs – $100 million to expand line worker training programs and $500 million for green workforce training.
$2 billion in competitive grants to develop the next generation of batteries to store energy.
Increasing, for the first time in more than a decade, the fuel economy standards for Model Year 2011 cars and trucks so they will get better mileage, saving drivers money and spurring companies to develop more innovative products.
The President issued a memorandum to the Department of Energy to implement more aggressive efficiency standards for common household appliances, like dishwashers and refrigerators. Through this step, over the next three decades, we’ll save twice the amount of energy produced by all the coal-fired power plants in America in any given year. WHAT ABOUT THE CASH FOR APPLIANCES PROGRAM?
Supporting the first steps of a legally-binding treaty to reduce mercury emissions worldwide.
