Think Before Reacting to Climate Action Plan and US Energy Policy

The climate action plan outlined by President Obama yesterday in a speech given at Georgetown University sparked a glimmer of hope in me. It calls for expanding clean energy use and cutting energy waste. The White House proposal is available online in its entirety. Read it and give serious thought to this important matter. I welcome feedback about whether you think it’s on target and/or want to hear your ideas about ways for improving the situation. 

http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/image/president27sclimateactionplan.pdf

If you don't have an opinion already, try to form one before you are influenced by the media, special interest groups, and politicians who are likely to skew the interpretation of the speech to suit their personal agendas. 

From my perspective, the main thrust of the plan is to indicate where and how American factories, businesses, power plants, and individuals can reduce our carbon footprints and prepare for the impact of climate change that is a reality and in Obama’s words, “too late to avoid.”

I agree with Obama in that we are already suffering consequences of climate change like water shortages, depletion of other natural resources, skyrocketing energy costs, and extreme climatic disasters like Hurricane Sandy and severe drought in much of the southwest.

 http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/.

We Americans have made slight inroads through conservation and recycling efforts, including selecting cars and electronic appliances that are energy efficient. But there are those among us who are still unwilling to voluntarily cut back on individual and industrial energy consumption and carbon emissions. That's why we need the federal government to step in with tougher penalties for dirty energy abusers and a federal standard to limit carbon emissions for power plants. We need a national, unified effort to implement methods to curtail, conserve, and switch to more environmentally friendly sources of energy.

The Obama plan is a start, but one major flaw that I spotted immediately, was that it does not mention a government incentive for public transportation infrastructures to cut back on pollution and supple citizens with an efficient, environmentally beneficial method of mass transit in US Cities. Just look at what Denver, NYC, Boston, and Portland, OR have been able to do. 

http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2011/02/08/10-best-cities-for-public-transportation

I believe we have reached a critical break-point. Both parties in Congress need to come together for the sake of our nation and planetary survival. What do you think about climate change and which measures do you think should be priorities?

Please review these statistics and information taken from the report:

“Roughly 84 percent of current carbon dioxide emissions are energy-related and about 65 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions can be attributed to energy supply and energy use. The Obama Administration has promoted the expansion of renewable, clean, and efficient energy sources and technologies worldwide through:

• Financing and regulatory support for renewable and clean energy projects

• Actions to promote fuel switching from oil and coal to natural gas or renewables

• Support for the safe and secure use of nuclear power

• Cooperation on clean coal technologies

• Programs to improve and disseminate energy efficient technologies

In the past three years we have reached agreements with more than 20 countries around the world, including Mexico, South Africa, and Indonesia, to support low emission development strategies that help countries to identify the best ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while growing their economies.”

Your comments are welcome.Please click on the white envelope below to express your views.

Before you do-here is the quote for today:
You've got to think about big things while you're doing small things, so that all the small things go in the right direction.
Alvin Toffler 
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/right_direction.html#YBCDJ1hPpGYiY4Pw.99