Obama Hearts the Environment

Probably not as much as I heart penguins, but we won’t hold that against him.

While the Bush administration single handedly set America’s environmentally conscious policy push back to the 20th century, the current administration led by commander-in-chief Barack Obama already in its first few weeks seems to be working to undo all of the missteps made by its predecessors and put America back on the path to successfully preserving the environment. However, with strong Republican opposition at every turn, one begins to wonder if Obama and company will have the political fortitude to withstand the barrage of attacks from the Republican Party that are seemingly inevitable, especially on controversial issues such as global warming policy and off shore drilling practices that set deep party divides.

To put it simply, I think he will.

Although the goals of the Obama administration may seem a bit ambitious, it’s pretty likely that they can be achieved with the same amount of ease that the Bush administration had in weaseling its inexplicable and border-line reckless actions past the American people. Granted, Obama doesn’t have an imaginary war to cloak his true motives, but I think that the American people can see that his only motivation is to get America back on track. And with the environment at the top of the nation’s priorities, it is clear that America will no longer stand for a President that refuses to invest in its proliferation.

With that being said, hopefully the damaging effects of such possible policies initiated by the Bush regime such as drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and withdrawal from the Kyoto Protocol can be rectified or circumvented all together. And while it is very possible to do so, the majority of the work that this administration faces will be in gaining universal support in a Congress where the Democrats favor regional politics over party concerns and the Republicans favor anything opposite the Democrats. However, I think that strong political pressure from the people will be the guiding force that enables Obama’s new policies to be implemented.

Thanks to the environmental calamity that has ensued over the past 8 years the slate is open for the new administration to make new policy that will erase the bad habits that America has sunk into and restate America’s environmental goals in a way that shows our commitment to making a successful transition into a new, environmentally conscious era. Obama has already pledged to reduce green house gas emissions, develop clean coal technologies, reduce oil drilling on and off shore, and increase protections for endangered species. All of which have the ability to stimulate the economy rather than cause a net increase to the deficit, which some critics claim will happen with increased investment in the environment. What America needs now is environment saving policy that will, simultaneously create new jobs and help drive us out of the recession; change that will make everyone happier.

See, the penguins are happier already.

*See article in USA Today Obama Veers From Bush Environmental Course by Traci Watson for more research.

Sunday, March 8, 2009