General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsLizza: "Obama’s surprising appeal to Congress (on climate change) was an empty piece of rhetoric"
From Ryan Lizza's New Yorker piece.
<snip>
In his three most important speeches of the last year, he promised to confront this threat. In his convention speech in Charlotte, North Carolina, last September, he vowed, my plan will continue to reduce the carbon pollution that is heating our planet, because climate change is not a hoax. More droughts and floods and wildfires are not a joke. They are a threat to our childrens future.
<snip>
But the budget released this week makes it clear that Ohttp://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/comment/2013/04/climate-change-out-of-obama-budget.html?mbid=gnep&google_editors_picks=trueThe phrase climate change appears twenty-nine times in the new budget, but there is no new plan for Congress to take up in Obamas otherwise ambitious legislative blueprint. There are some worthy energy initiatives that could achieve modest reductions in emissions, but the budget is silent on what Obama will do to aggressively reduce carbon pollution by the biggest emitters, like power plants and automobiles.
It is not as if Obama doesnt have the power to act. On many issues the President is at the mercy of Congress. He cant reform gun laws or the immigration system, or rewrite the tax code, without coöperation from the House and Senate. Climate change is different. Obamas Environmental Protection Agency, backed by the force of a Supreme Court ruling, has the authority to reduce carbon pollution through regulation. In 2010, when White House negotiators were trying to pass cap and trade, they presented reluctant senators with a promise (some called it a threat): pass a comprehensive bill to deal with the problem or the E.P.A. would move forward on its own. Three years later, the Administration has still not acted on that ultimatum. And, ominously for those who care about tackling climate change, Obamas new budget proposes to reduce funding for the E.P.A. by 3.5 per cent compared to the current year.
<snip>
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/comment/2013/04/climate-change-out-of-obama-budget.html?mbid=gnep&google_editors_picks=true
MannyGoldstein
(34,589 posts)ProSense
(116,464 posts)...when the President said that, he meant that Congress would act via the budget. The President's budget addresses certain issues, and he can act on his own on some issues.
Statements On Obama Budget From NRDC, CAP, & SEIA
http://cleantechnica.com/2013/04/11/statements-on-obama-budget-from-nrdc-cap-seia/
Obama Will Use Nixon-Era Law to Fight Climate Change
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022512709
New EPA Rules Would Make Your Car Run Better And Cleaner
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022593375
Senate bill: Sanders-Boxer climate protection bill includes carbon fee for nearly 3,000 top fossil fuel polluters
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022374998