Unit 4

March 24, 2015

Obama Orders Cuts in Federal Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Summary:

President Obama is well known to support renewable energy and trying to reduce the United States' greenhouse gas emissions.  On Thursday March 19, 2015, President Obama signed an executive order that calls for reduces in the government's carbon footprint.  The President's plan calls for a forty percent reduction in heat trapping emissions over the next decade from the 2008 measured levels.  The White House said this plan will save 18 billion dollars in taxpayer money and will increase the federal government's use of renewable resources like wind and solar power by 30 percent.  Major government suppliers such as IBM, General Electric, Honeywell, and many other U.S. firms expected to announce their new plan to reduce their carbon footprint as well.  In November of 2014, Obama pledged to lower the U.S carbon emissions by 28 percent over the next decade.  Conservative lawmakers and industry groups are not fond of the administration's and the President's actions to address climate change.  They believe that this plan jeopardize reliability and could possibly raise utility rates in the future.

Analysis:

Even though the Republicans oppose the environmental regulation that has been set, the President proceeded to sign the executive order that removes the federal government's greenhouse gas emissions.  The Environmental Protection Agency and other groups have been used by the President to avoid the Republican opposition in Congress and with taking actions against global warning.  When a person is elected president they receive implied powers and being able to sign an executive order is one of the most significant ones.  President Obama has recently used that power to act on his promise to the U.S. to make this matter a core focus of his second term as President of the United States.  This relates to our current unit of study because we are learning about Presidential roles and the powers he/she receives when they are in that position of power.  I believe in protecting the environment and doing anything possible to keep it healthy and safe but I do not want the utility rates to raise like the Republicans say it will.  I do agree with President Obama's methods of trying to reduce the United States' carbon emissions because I care a lot about the environment and I would try to do as much as I could to protect it as well.  

Article 1: http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/03/19/obama-cuts-federal-governments-carbon-emissions-to-address-global-warming 

Article 2: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/20/us/politics/obama-order-to-cut-federal-greenhouse-gas-emissions.html?ref=topics&_r=0

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKVz6U341ow 

Unit 3

March 2, 2015

Blue Dot For Obama Prompts Red Nebraska to Revisit Electoral College Rules

Mostly everyone in the state of Nebraska is a republican making Nebraska known as a completely red state.  Looking at a constant trend set in Nebraska, it is shown that all of Nebraska’s Electoral College votes are coming out as republican as well.  Nebraska is one of only two states that does not practice the “winner-takes-all system” along with the other state of Maine.  This article brings up an important issue that is relative to Unit 3 because it discusses the Electoral College and how each state uses it differently.

In 2008, the state was in shock when President Obama won one Electoral College vote in the election.  There are predictions that in 2015, a proposal will be passed that says about changing the winner-take-all system that has been occurring for many years.  They believe that this proposal will make it through to the governor’s office through a conservative push.  It will gain a greater drive because of the conservative believers and the approaching election which seems right now to be a close one.  The Republican voters in Nebraska are defending this proposal to keep up their saying in the Electoral College. They are saying that since they did not get their way and did not get their vote, they want to go change the rules. The article positions that “Switching to winner-take-all is a matter of fairness, not partisanship.  Democrats think otherwise, and some call the Republicans’ efforts an attempt to extend their monopoly of state politics.”

In the article it is stated that through pushing this proposal into the legislature, they can eliminate the tiny Democratic vote and make all votes from the Electoral College be Republican due to the majority rules method.  Democrats are refuting this proposal by testifying that Republicans are “shying away from competition” and the proposal will be biased because it will end in zero chance for the Democratic candidates to have even a fractional victory in the state. Obama won the urban Omaha Congressional District in 2008 in spite of the point that Democratic nominees typically tend to lose a lot.

Even though I typically have Republican views, I have to agree with the Democrats views on this issue.  Having Nebraska’s Electoral College system to be changed to the winner-take-all system will be unfair for the Democratic voters in the state.  I think the Democratic votes should be able to go through the Electoral College and count for something since the state is already a majority Republican.  The public could gain a lot of support by having more voters registering and more voters able to know that their votes mean/stand for something in this world. 

Article:  http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/01/us/politics/blue-dot-for-obama-prompts-red-nebraska-to-revisit-electoral-college-rules.html?ref=topics

Video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9H3gvnN468