With several strokes of Obama’s executive pen, he did more this morning for environmental policy in a few minutes than Bush did in eight years.
President Obama directed federal regulators on Monday to move swiftly on an application by California and 13 other states to set strict limits on greenhouse gases from cars and trucks. He also ordered the Transportation Department to begin drawing up rules imposing higher fuel-economy standards on cars and light trucks.
It appears he has taken Al Gore’s advice to heart:
To avoid losing another year on emissions and fuel efficiency, Mr. Obama will order temporary regulations to be completed by March so that automakers will have enough time to retool for vehicles to be sold in 2011.
He announced a program in the stimulus package that is supposed to save the taxpayers $2 billion by weatherizing most federal buildings. There is also money set aside to help two million people weatherize their homes. And that’s just the beginning.
He also ordered federal departments and agencies to find new ways to save energy and be more environmentally friendly. And he highlighted the elements in his $825 billion economic stimulus plan intended to create jobs around renewable energy.
Among the most clueless responses to Obama’s actions?
“I am fearful that today’s action will begin the process of setting the American auto industry back even further,” Sen. George Voinovich (R-Ohio) said. “The federal government should not be piling on an industry already hurting in a time like this.”
Of course, Obama addressed that concern directly in his comments.
“Our goal is not to further burden the struggling American auto industry,” he said, but rather to make a major step toward addressing global warming by cleaning up the American transportation fleet.
Detroit wants to stay stuck in the mud, but they’re broke, asking for taxpayer money, and in no position to protest. This all appears to be part of our daily dose of change we can believe in.
He’s been doing some very bold, decisive stuff on crucial, core, issues. Going up against the self-defeating resistance by the car industry takes real political determination. This is why I can’t get totally alienated when he disappoints with other matters, such as his acceptance of tax cuts and a transporation (as opposed to energy) plan that’s way, way, too tilted toward the auto economy. Some of his lefty distainers don’t understand why anybody trusts him. Actions like this, that show where his thoughts and beliefs come from, are why.
Can weatherize their homes I’ll be impressed.
Meantime I’m watching. Not bad at all, but not impressive.
No, Boo Man, not impressive. Two million little people homes? Not even close. Try again.
that makes no sense. Even if my community had a weatherizing company with good capacity, they couldn’t simultaneously do more than 5 or 6 houses at a time. They might do 60 houses a year. You want Congress to appropriate enough funds for every house in the country to receive subsidized weatherization in this year’s budget.
Perfect example of not thinking before you criticize.
The only way it’s not impressive is if you imagine that the last 30 years never happened, and all the forces that made them happen no longer exist. When a society gets to the level ours has, doing what’s obviously right becomes extremely impressive in my book.
I am not in a good space–not a bad one, just not where I should be–and I was wrong on this. I’ve read over the reports the last 90 minutes and this is truly impressive, especially as mentioned here when compared to the last eight years.
I always want more for the little people, that’s all.
Obama is doing a good job in these early days of sending all the right signals. He is following thru on campaign promises. I’m as cranky a progressive as anyone, but I’m impressed.
I thought there was a moratorium on double-entendre since that threat on Obama’s huge stimulus package.
Just pointing out that high-mileage vehicles are inherently lower emitters of greenhouse gases. Depending on how tough the limits are, large vehicles might only be able to pass by being hybrid or electric. The Big Three need only not offer their largest vehicles in states like California to comply.
not all of “Detroit wants to stay stuck in the mud”…and l’m certainly not one to defend the big 3, but at least fomoco, have had products in the pipeline that, if they had had the proper management and foresight, they coulda, woulda, shoulda marketed the hell out of vehicles like this: 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid: 52 mpg:
interesting that ford’s the only one not taking bail out funds now that there’s an administration in place that’s going to require them to /put up or shut up.
we’ll soon see if GM and Chrysler…which FIAT now owns a 35% interest in…are up to the task.
happy motoring.
They weren’t rushing to take them under Bush either. They want now what they wanted then, a line of credit just in case.
I disappointed in the Obama limo that gets single-digit mileage.
How exactly is an armored limousine supposed to get double digit gas mileage?
And when would it drive double-digit miles? Come 2016 that car will have fewer miles on it than I’ll put on my car this year.
This all appears to be part of our daily dose of change we can believe in.
But he’s a centrist! He picked center-right leaning people! And of course, changiness we can believe in.
Yeah, SIrota, I’m looking at you.