The Green Change We Need

By Megan McLaughlin

New Year, New President; there was no better way to usher in 2009, than by experiencing a much needed change. President Barack Obama certainly has his work cut out for him and although Environment may not be number one on the list, it is certainly an area in which he has promised some long-awaited changes, some of which may already be under way.

According to TIME Magazine Online, “From the green perspective, the Bush Administration has been an unmitigated disaster, with sins of omission (the failure to do anything significant on climate change) and commission (stealthy attempts to weaken environmental protections such as the Endangered Species Act).” Bush has simply ignored these issues and has encouraged others to follow suit; “The new American Climate Values Survey, commissioned by environmental groups, found that only half of Republicans think global warming is real, compared to 90% of all Democrats.” It’s shocking when you hear these statistics for the first time. It’s very hard to swallow the concept of a person who believes that global warming is not real.

Although Bush was aiming to dissolve many environmental regulations, Obama’s promises of a greener future are already coming into play. TIME Magazine Online reported that during Obama’s first full day in office, a memo was sent out, ordering a halt on any and all pending regulations. “For the environment, that meant Obama was able to save the gray wolf from being removed from the Endangered Species Act and block a pair of new air-quality rules, including one that would prevent the regulation of greenhouse-gas emissions from oil refineries.”

President Obama may be hard at work already, but will he be able to cross off all of the items on his list? A few things the Obama-Biden New Energy for America plan will be held accountable for are prices at the pump, creating new jobs and getting more hybrids on the road – all targeted at solving our current economic and environmental crises.