As an environmentalist, the thing that stands out most about Barack Obama’s State of the Union Address tonight is his commitment to promote increased government funding for the “clean coal” hoax, and to allow even more offshore drilling for oil and gas along America’s coasts. It’s the kind of thing that I would have expected to hear from a State of the Union Address by George W. Bush.
I’d like to hear from other environmentalists about their reaction to this statement from President Obama. How are you reacting to this unequivocal stand with the dirty energy industry? Is it something you’re willing to accept, or does it break your trust in Obama for good?
As an environmentally aware person i’m aghast that the administration is basically adopting a Republican denialist stance toward climate-change. This has been apparent since his weak Copenhagen speech, and continues to last night, where he offered more of the same fossil fuel approach to our energy needs. Short-sighted thinking. i expected more from him once, but now realize fully that he’s Bush III.
It would have been remarkable if he instead offered to start (through funding) a solar energy panel on every house that gets sunlight on even part of a roof (a modification of the chicken in every pot idea). I would have liked to hear about the new project to create the smart grid that’s been touted as necessary to our future. Think about all the people just those two projects would put to work, let alone helping solve our energy problems in a clean way. Looks to me like the coal and oil energy industries have him as their spokesperson.
You forgot $billions for nuclear power. I understand that many of the existing plants need upgrading.
In any other business, if your plant needed upgrading, would you get a multi-million dollar grant from the Feds?
My two issues:
massive military spending
environmental protectioin
Therefore, the speech is a disappointment. Oh yes he had to focus on domestic issues, as if those issues are not heavily influenced by military spending and environmental protection. Ignoring that will kill us all.
I am appalled at Obama’s blindness to Carbon Age dirty energy sources and agree wholeheartedly with you. As soon as I heard the words “more nuclear power plants” and “offshore oil drilling” I turned the television off. Obama has succeeded in surrounding himself with Big Oil lobbyists to the detriment of the coastal states of America. There is not enough fossil fuel out there on our Outer Continental Shelf to risk environmental damage to natural and human communities with oil spills and water/air pollution. Bringing up crude petroleum from sea beds to process it, sell it to us, blow it out our car exhaust pipes, to rise as carbon dioxide and raising global temperatures, further acidifying our world oceans killing off marine food chains is nothing short of planetary suicide. We need to concentrate on clean renewables and breaking our addiction to world oil reserves which are depleted and almost gone. The energy policy priorities Obama outlined last night (including the oxymoron “clean coal”) tell me he does not get the climate science regarding greenhouse gas emissions and the peril our planet is in. His policies have no spine — by mid-century California will have lost 30 to 50% of all recorded species of flora and fauna if we do not work immediately to cool Earth’s temperature.
you could say he’s bending over backwards to appease the right in his bid for an energy policy that will leave us less dependent on foreign sources. if this can help get legislation for other green sources then, maybe, it’s a trade off that will help reach that goal. to my ear, the prospect of green technology and a whole new industry providing alternative power was a more predominant theme in the state of the union speech than the dirty energy initiatives. but, creating jobs in america via green tech hasn’t got much legs in the republican crowd, so, peppering some nuke plants and off-shore oil rigs in with it might make it harder for the naysayers. of course, if the left chooses to blast this approach as unacceptable then we will continue to see gridlock and poll numbers showing obama losing support. sometimes short term compromise can be a good thing.
I’m sorry, but the Democrats have strong majorities in Congress, and you’re blaming the LEFT for gridlock?