With the coming of a new age guided by President Obama’s tutelage, the country has been left in the dust concerning green technology and environmental sensitivity. President Bush had no time or concern for environmental policy or research which many attribute this to his special interest groups that so graciously funded his campaign. President Obama and Vice President Biden have implemented a new strategy for the future of America, it is called, “New Energy for America”.
In this doctrine it spells out the future goals that they have for the American people. The largest and most important on the list are creating jobs, reducing carbon production, decreasing oil dependency, short term relief funds, initiation of hybrid cars, and the use of electricity from renewable sources. Obviously these issues are nothing new, and how can we believe that Obama will help push these initiatives into action? Well, no one can say for sure that all of his top priorities will be carried out, but he does have long term plans that may help the Country.
Interestingly, Obama is trying to lead by example, and in doing so he has asked that the White House Fleet be converted to plug in hybrid vehicles, (Security Permitting). I feel personally that a personal stance such is this is a great message to send to the United States and the rest of the world. Obama does on the other hand have some tall orders in which he would like to take care of. One item that may be tough is ensuring that in 2012 10% of the US’s electricity is provided by renewable sources.
Lastly, our dependence for oil is in any case outrageous, but Obama is trying to bring that dependence to the home front. By harnessing oil reserves in Montana, Texas, and Alaska, Obama plans to reduce the cost at the pump. This however, has caused much controversy among environmental activists. Do we save the caribou, grizzly bears, and snowshoe hare, or do we drill and help out with our economic crisis. A highly debated issue with no compromise is something that I understand is very difficult for a President to encounter. As in any situation when dealing with economic stability, the mighty dollar speaks the truth, whether it is right or wrong.
Barack Obama and Joe Biden: New Energy for American
2 comments:
I think environmental policy in itself is very complicated and it is only so because policy makers are usually being pushed by interest groups and lobbyists to vote in a different direction. I think the biggest problem in the Bush Administration is regards to energy was that several lobbyists were pushing for nuclear power and a deeper dependency on foreign oil because those same lobbyists were profiting abundantly so from it. Right now internationally Europe is taking the biggest stand and turning green. For example, the UK have already installed windmills that they use on the cost, Germany spends a lot of money going green as well as Iceland. Then there are countries in the Middle East that have the elements to go green but due to pressures from Saudi Arabia don't and then try to change to nuclear power instead. Energy topics are always so interesting because everyone can see that eventually has to happen in order to advance globally, but it seems most are afraid to take that first plunge, not knowing what will happen. The humorous part of it all is that several countries have extremely high unemployment problems, and by going green, it would open the market for new jobs and new technology and at the same time would pump more money into the economy. It sounds like something the United States need, and I wonder will they ever really take that plunge?
I think the new energy interest is good but the question is will it work, and will we be free of relying on Middle East oil? It is good to try to do something now instead of waiting ten years because it might be too late and run out of oil. Then other countries will need the oil and there will not be enough to go around. The other problem is it might take longer than 3 years to set up places to use renewable sources. The buildings that we need to use the sources will have to be constructed to make the sources work. It might not work right away and take longer to figure out the problems.
The other issue is the environmental problems that we might be an obstacle. The ecosystem is fragile because if you disturb one part of it other areas might get affected. I was thinking about the everglades that are disappearing because we disturbed it. If you disturb the environment you can’t go back and start over again. After you put all the equipment in and cant restore back to what it used to be.
I think it is good that we are trying something new and not depending on the Middle East or other countries for oil. It is hard to find the balance in trying something without any complications that may come back to hurt us more in the long run.
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