The Clean Slate Agenda

[Towntalk]

Here is President Obama's statement:

Remarks by the President
on Jobs, Energy Independence, and Climate Change
East Room of the White House
January 26, 2009

Good morning.  Before I begin today's announcement, I want to say a few words about the deepening economic crisis that we've inherited and the need for urgent action.
Over the last few days we've learned that Microsoft, Intel, United Airlines, Home Depot, Sprint Nextel, and Caterpillar are each cutting thousands of jobs.  These are not just numbers on a page.  As with the millions of jobs lost in 2008, these are working men and women whose families have been disrupted and whose dreams have been put on hold.
We owe it to each of them and to every, single American to act with a sense of urgency and common purpose.  We can't afford distractions and we cannot afford delays.  And that is why I look forward to signing an American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan that will put millions of Americans to work and lay the foundation for stable growth that our economy needs and that our people demand.  These are extraordinary times and it calls for swift and extraordinary action.
At a time of such great challenge for America, no single issue is as fundamental to our future as energy.  America's dependence on oil is one of the most serious threats that our nation has faced.  It bankrolls dictators, pays for nuclear proliferation, and funds both sides of our struggle against terrorism.  It puts the American people at the mercy of shifting gas prices, stifles innovation and sets back our ability to compete.
These urgent dangers to our national and economic security are compounded by the long-term threat of climate change, which if left unchecked could result in violent conflict, terrible storms, shrinking coastlines and irreversible catastrophe.  These are the facts and they are well known to the American people -- after all, there is nothing new about these warnings.  Presidents have been sounding the alarm about energy dependence for decades.  President Nixon promised to make our energy -- our nation energy independent by the end of the 1970s.  When he spoke, we imported about a third of our oil; we now import more than half.
Year after year, decade after decade, we've chosen delay over decisive action.  Rigid ideology has overruled sound science.  Special interests have overshadowed common sense.  Rhetoric has not led to the hard work needed to achieve results.  Our leaders raise their voices each time there's a spike in gas prices, only to grow quiet when the price falls at the pump.
Now America has arrived at a crossroads.  Embedded in American soil and the wind and the sun, we have the resources to change.  Our scientists, businesses and workers have the capacity to move us forward.  It falls on us to choose whether to risk the peril that comes with our current course or to seize the promise of energy independence.  For the sake of our security, our economy and our planet, we must have the courage and commitment to change.
It will be the policy of my administration to reverse our dependence on foreign oil, while building a new energy economy that will create millions of jobs.  We hold no illusion about the task that lies ahead.  I cannot promise a quick fix; no single technology or set of regulations will get the job done.  But we will commit ourselves to steady, focused, pragmatic pursuit of an America that is free from our energy dependence and empowered by a new energy economy that puts millions of our citizens to work.
Today, I'm announcing the first steps on our journey toward energy independence, as we develop new energy, set new fuel efficiency standards, and address greenhouse gas emissions.  Each step begins to move us in a new direction, while giving us the tools that we need to change.
First, we must take bold action to create a new American energy economy that creates millions of jobs for our people.  The American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan before Congress places a down payment on this economy.  It will put 460,000 Americans to work, with clean energy investments and double the capacity to generate alternative energy over the next three years.  It will lay down 3,000 miles of transmission lines to deliver this energy to every corner of our country.  It will save taxpayers $2 billion a year by making 75 percent of federal buildings more efficient.  And it will save working families hundreds of dollars on their energy bills by weatherizing 2 million homes.
This is the boost that our economy needs, and the new beginning that our future demands.  By passing the bill, Congress can act where Washington has failed to act over and over again for 30 years.  We need more than the same old empty promises.  We need to show that this time it will be different.  This is the time that Americans must come together on behalf of our common prosperity and security.
Second, we must ensure that the fuel-efficient cars of tomorrow are built right here in the United States of America.  Increasing fuel efficiency in our cars and trucks is one of the most important steps that we can take to break our cycle of dependence on foreign oil.  It will also help spark the innovation needed to ensure that our auto industry keeps pace with competitors around the world.
We will start by implementing new standards for model year 2011 so that we use less oil and families have access to cleaner, more efficient cars and trucks.  This rule will be a down payment on a broader and sustained effort to reduce our dependence on foreign oil.  Congress has passed legislation to increase standards to at least 35 miles per gallon by 2020.  That 40 percent increase in fuel efficiency for our cars and trucks could save over 2 million barrels of oil every day -- nearly the entire amount of oil that we import from the Persian Gulf.
Going forward, my administration will work on a bipartisan basis in Washington and with industry partners across the country to forge a comprehensive approach that makes our economy stronger and our nation more secure.
Third, the federal government must work with, not against, states to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.  California has shown bold and bipartisan leadership through its effort to forge 21st century standards, and over a dozen states have followed its lead.  But instead of serving as a partner, Washington stood in their way.  This refusal to lead risks the creation of a confusing and patchwork set of standards that hurts the environment and the auto industry.
The days of Washington dragging its heels are over.  My administration will not deny facts, we will be guided by them.  We cannot afford to pass the buck or push the burden onto the states.  And that's why I'm directing the Environmental Protection Agency to immediately review the denial of the California waiver request and determine the best way forward.  This will help us create incentives to develop new energy that will make us less dependent on oil that endangers our security, our economy, and our planet.
As we move forward, we will fully take into account the unique challenges facing the American auto industry and the taxpayer dollars that now support it.  And let me be clear:  Our goal is not to further burden an already struggling industry.  It is to help America's automakers prepare for the future.  This commitment must extend beyond the short-term assistance for businesses and workers.  We must help them thrive by building the cars of tomorrow, and galvanizing a dynamic and viable industry for decades to come.
Finally, we will make it clear to the world that America is ready to lead.  To protect our climate and our collective security, we must call together a truly global coalition.  I've made it clear that we will act, but so too must the world.  That's how we will deny leverage to dictators and dollars to terrorists.  And that's how we will ensure that nations like China and India are doing their part, just as we are now willing to do ours.
It's time for America to lead, because this moment of peril must be turned into one of progress.  If we take action, we can create new industries and revive old ones; we can open new factories and power new farms; we can lower costs and revive our economy.  We can do that, and we must do that.  There's much work to be done.  There is much further for us to go.
But I want to be clear from the beginning of this administration that we have made our choice.  America will not be held hostage to dwindling resources, hostile regimes, and a warming planet.  We will not be put off from action because action is hard.  Now is the time to make the tough choices.  Now is the time to meet the challenge at this crossroad of history by choosing a future that is safer for our country, prosperous for our planet, and sustainable.
Those are my priorities, and they're reflected in the executive orders that I'm about to sign.  Thank you so much for being here.

[Towntalk]

Where is your update? The administration has already done this.

Obama: U.S. done 'dragging heels' on climate

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2009/01/27/MNGA15H8JT.DTL

President Obama began the step-by-step dismantling of President Bush's climate change policies Monday by endorsing California's aggressive vehicle emissions standards and by naming a high-profile envoy to lead U.S. efforts to re-engage in international climate talks.
Obama is quickly fulfilling his pledge to make energy and global warming two of his top priorities. His economic stimulus plan is jammed with $54 billion in incentives for renewable energy and efficiency measures. He promised last year that he would back California's vehicle emissions rules, but state officials never expected he would hold a televised ceremony at the White House his first week to announce it.
Obama also ordered the Transportation Department to speed the development of new federal rules, passed by Congress and signed by Bush in 2007, to raise fuel economy requirements to 35 miles per gallon by 2020.

Approving the California waiver could be Obama's fastest route to affecting climate change policy in the country. Because 13 states have adopted California's rules and five more are considering them, the regulations could apply to more than half the country, effectively forcing automakers to raise the efficiency of their fleets.

Here are the Executive Orders he signed

[Federal Register: January 28, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 17)]
[Presidential Documents]               
[Page 4905-4906]


                        Presidential Documents

[[Page 4905]]


                Memorandum of January 26, 2009


                State of California Request for Waiver Under 42
                U.S.C. 7543(b), the Clean Air Act

                Memorandum for the Administrator of the Environmental
                Protection Agency

                Under the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401-7671q), the
                Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sets emissions
                standards for new motor vehicles. California may also
                adopt standards for new motor vehicles if the
                Administrator of the EPA, based on criteria set out in
                the statute, waives the general statutory prohibition
                on State adoption or enforcement of emissions
                standards. Other States may adopt emissions standards
                for new motor vehicles if they are identical to the
                California standards for which a waiver has been
                granted and comply with other statutory criteria.

                For decades, the EPA has granted the State of
                California such waivers. The EPA's final decision to
                deny California's application for a waiver permitting
                the State to adopt limitations on greenhouse gas
                emissions from motor vehicles was published in the
                Federal Register on March 6, 2008.

                In order to ensure that the EPA carries out its
                responsibilities for improving air quality, you are
                hereby requested to assess whether the EPA's decision
                to deny a waiver based on California's application was
                appropriate in light of the Clean Air Act. I further
                request that, based on that assessment, the EPA
                initiate any appropriate action.

                This memorandum is not intended to, and does not,
                create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural,
                enforceable at law or in equity by any party against
                the United States, its departments, agencies, or
                entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any
                other person.

[[Page 4906]]

                You are hereby authorized and directed to publish this
                memorandum in the Federal Register.
               
               
                    (Presidential Sig.)

                THE WHITE HOUSE,

                    Washington, January 26, 2009

[FR Doc. E9-1939 Filed 1-27-09; 8:45 am]


[Federal Register: January 28, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 17)]
[Presidential Documents]               
[Page 4903-4904]


                        Presidential Documents
___________________________________________________________________

Title 3--
The President

[[Page 4903]]

                Memorandum of January 23, 2009


                Mexico City Policy and Assistance for Voluntary
                Population Planning

                Memorandum for the Secretary of State [and] the
                Administrator of the United States Agency for
                International Development

                The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C.
                2151b(f)(1)), prohibits nongovernmental organizations
                (NGOs) that receive Federal funds from using those
                funds ``to pay for the performance of abortions as a
                method of family planning, or to motivate or coerce any
                person to practice abortions.'' The August 1984
                announcement by President Reagan of what has become
                known as the ``Mexico City Policy'' directed the United
                States Agency for International Development (USAID) to
                expand this limitation and withhold USAID funds from
                NGOs that use non-USAID funds to engage in a wide range
                of activities, including providing advice, counseling,
                or information regarding abortion, or lobbying a
                foreign government to legalize or make abortion
                available. The Mexico City Policy was in effect from
                1985 until 1993, when it was rescinded by President
                Clinton. President George W. Bush reinstated the policy
                in 2001, implementing it through conditions in USAID
                grant awards, and subsequently extended the policy to
                ``voluntary population planning'' assistance provided
                by the Department of State.

                These excessively broad conditions on grants and
                assistance awards are unwarranted. Moreover, they have
                undermined efforts to promote safe and effective
                voluntary family planning programs in foreign nations.
                Accordingly, I hereby revoke the Presidential
                memorandum of January 22, 2001, for the Administrator
                of USAID (Restoration of the Mexico City Policy), the
                Presidential memorandum of March 28, 2001, for the
                Administrator of USAID (Restoration of the Mexico City
                Policy), and the Presidential memorandum of August 29,
                2003, for the Secretary of State (Assistance for
                Voluntary Population Planning). In addition, I direct
                the Secretary of State and the Administrator of USAID
                to take the following actions with respect to
                conditions in voluntary population planning assistance
                and USAID grants that were imposed pursuant to either
                the 2001 or 2003 memoranda and that are not required by
                the Foreign Assistance Act or any other law: (1)
                immediately waive such conditions in any current
                grants, and (2) notify current grantees, as soon as
                possible, that these conditions have been waived. I
                further direct that the Department of State and USAID
                immediately cease imposing these conditions in any
                future grants.

                This memorandum is not intended to, and does not,
                create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural,
                enforceable at law or in equity by any party against
                the United States, its departments, agencies, or
                entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any
                other person.

[[Page 4904]]

                The Secretary of State is authorized and directed to
                publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.
               
               
                    (Presidential Sig.)

                THE WHITE HOUSE,

                    Washington, January 23, 2009

[FR Doc. E9-1923 Filed 1-27-09; 8:45 am]

[irishbobcat]

The Clean Slate Agenda
The Obama administration will announce its energy plan soon after Inauguration Day, establishing its priorities and setting the bar on energy and climate policy for the next four years.
For the last eight years, the Bush administration has obstructed action on global warming. And its agenda could undermine any CO2 reduction goals of the new administration. Due to the Bush Administration's delay and obstruction:
·   States lack the authority to regulate vehicle greenhouse gas emissions.
·   Approximately 100 new, dirty coal plants, each emitting thousands of tons of CO2, are proposed nationwide.
·   The U.S. has delayed a commitment to strong CO2 reduction targets.
·   Mountaintop removal coal mining is devastating Appalachian communities and contributing to global warming.

Obama Can Make A Big Difference on Day One
We have identified four key actions the President can make -- independently of Congress-- that will enable the new Administration to start 2009 with a 'clean slate.'
·   He can direct his Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to grant a waiver that will allow California and more than a dozen other states to limit global warming pollution from cars.
·   He can end to the rush to build dirty coal plants by directing his EPA to require all new and existing power plants limit their global warming emissions.
·   He can direct his EPA to end irresponsible mountaintop removal coal mining by stopping coal companies from dumping rock and waste into valleys and streams.
·   He can restore America's international leadership in the fight to end global warming by publicly committing the U.S. to cut its CO2 emissions by at least 35% by 2020.
These policies will spur some of the actions long-delayed by the Bush administration, while jumpstarting a clean energy economy and reducing global warming pollution.
More About the Clean Slate Agenda's Four Key Actions
Granting the Clean Car Waiver
California has long been a leader in setting tough vehicle emissions standards, including setting the first standards to reduce tailpipe emissions of CO2 by 30% by 2016. Over a dozen states have followed or are following California's lead but the Bush Administration's EPA denied California the necessary waiver to implement these standards, blocking all the states from moving forward.  With so many states waiting to implement CO2 vehicle standards (and other states in the process of adopting them), the EPA should let states lead in protecting the health and welfare of their citizens.
Stopping the Coal Rush
There are approximately 100 new, dirty coal plants proposed around the country. These plants, if permitted and constructed, would emit more than 480 million tons of CO2 annually (about as much as 100 million cars) and would make it impossible for the incoming Administration to achieve meaningful CO2 reductions.
Already there are about 500 coal-fired power plants operating in the U.S. These existing plants are responsible for 2 billion tons of CO2 annually, making them the nation's single largest source of global warming pollution. Existing coal fired power plants are also major contributors to soot, smog and mercury pollution, causing 25,000 premature deaths, 38,000 heart attacks, and 21,000 hospitalizations each year.
Ending Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining
On the campaign trail, President Obama pledged to address the destruction caused by mountaintop removal coal mining. Obama can fulfill that commitment by restoring the original definition of 'fill material' under the Clean Water Act, which was weakened by the Bush Administration in 2002 in order to make it easier for coal companies to dump rock, debris, and other waste from mountaintop removal mines into valleys, burying streams. To date, coal companies in Appalachia have blown up 475 mountains and buried over 1,200 miles of streams with mountaintop removal coal mining. This coal provides approximately 4% of our nation's electricity, a small percentage that could easily be supplied by conservation, efficiency, and clean energy.
Carbon Reduction Targets
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the international scientific authority on global warming, has estimated that to limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius, developed nations must reduce their emissions by 25-40% below 1990 levels by 2020 (this is equal to 35% below 2005 for the U.S.).  The goal would be achieved through a cap on carbon emissions and additional efforts to reduce emissions at home and abroad.  International efforts would include programs to end tropical deforestation, assist in sustainable development and help the world's least developed countries adapt to the impacts of climate change that cannot be avoided.

For a Greener America.....

Dennis Spisak

Mahoning Valley Green Party

Ohio Green Party

www.ohiogreens.org

www.votespisak.org/thinkgreen/