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