Green will Help America Get Her Groove Back

America has lost its groove, and Thomas Friedman knows how America can get her groove back: the next Green Revolution. "What red was to America in the 1950s, what I'm arguing is that green needs to be to America of the 20th Century. Unfortunately because of 9/11, we went from red to code red... we need to go to code green."

image from mpr.org

He spoke about the world's environmental challenges at "Biodiversity in a Rapidly Changing World," a conference organized by the National Council for Science and the Environment in Washington, D.C. Friedman introduced his new book, Hot, Flat, and Crowded. You can listen to Thursday's presentation here at mpr.org.

Bush Administration Rushes to Entrench 8 Years of Bad Environmental Policy Long After Due Date Passes

The outgoing political appointees in the federal government are trying to pull a fast one on us.

The Bush Administration is rushing to put in place a set of 20 regulation changes - 4 of which slow environmental and worker protection and remove barriers for big companies to cut environmental corners.

image from gailjonas.blogspot.com - too bad there's not one of the entire administration.

Mind you, this is so far past due date it's not even funny - a May memo from the White House Chief of Staff wrote that proposals for regulations should be received no later than June 1. I don't know about you, but if I tried to turn in a paper 6 months late, I would be s#*% out of luck.

According to the New York Times, these proposals include rules that would:

1. Require another step in regulating workplace chemicals (longitudinal studies of exposure over an employee's working life), adding up to 2 years to a process that already takes 8.

2. Remove barriers to building power plants near national parks and wilderness areas

3. Reduce the role of federal wildlife scientists in declaring whether endangered species will be threatened by highway or dam construction

4. Allow coal companies to dump rock and dirt from mining into streams and valleys.

These proposals are to change the Code of Federal Regulations, a bundle of rules created by federal departments and agencies that have the force of law. While it would be easy for Obama to overturn any executive orders coming from Bush, it would require a public comment period and proof of a "reasoned analysis" to overturn these regulations - easy, of course, but time consuming.

Quotable Quotes from Obama

Image from chuckperry.blogspot.com.

Obama spoke today via video to a climate change conference in Los Angeles. Courtesy the New York Times, some notable quotes:

* “Now is the time to confront this challenge once and for all."

* “Delay is no longer an option. Denial is no longer an acceptable response.”

* “My presidency will mark a new chapter in America’s leadership on climate change that will strengthen our security and create millions of new jobs in the process."

* “When I am president, any governor who’s willing to promote clean energy will have a partner in the White House. Any company that’s willing to invest in clean energy will have an ally in Washington. And any nation that’s willing to join the cause of combating climate change will have an ally in the United States of America.”

I like where this rhetoric is going!