Thursday, May 19, 2022
The Green Market Oracle
  • Climate Change
    • Greenhouse Gas Emissions
    • Biodiversity
    • Wildfires
    • Extreme Weather
  • Energy
    • Fossil Fuels
    • Renewables
  • Politics
    • American Politics
    • Canadian Politics
    • International Politics
  • Social Change
    • Activism
    • Disinformation
    • Education
    • Psychology
    • Gender Equality
  • Business and Economics
    • Leadership
    • Decarbonization
    • Economics
    • Supply Chains
    • Investing
  • Technology
    • Carbon Removal
    • Carbon Capture
    • Transportation
    • Buildings
    • Food
No Result
View All Result
  • Climate Change
    • Greenhouse Gas Emissions
    • Biodiversity
    • Wildfires
    • Extreme Weather
  • Energy
    • Fossil Fuels
    • Renewables
  • Politics
    • American Politics
    • Canadian Politics
    • International Politics
  • Social Change
    • Activism
    • Disinformation
    • Education
    • Psychology
    • Gender Equality
  • Business and Economics
    • Leadership
    • Decarbonization
    • Economics
    • Supply Chains
    • Investing
  • Technology
    • Carbon Removal
    • Carbon Capture
    • Transportation
    • Buildings
    • Food
No Result
View All Result
The Green Market Oracle
No Result
View All Result
Home Politics American Politics

Obama Resurrecting Nixon to Advance Environmental Policy

by Richard Matthews
March 19, 2013
in American Politics, Other, Politics
0
President Barack Obama is resurrected the ghost of former Republican President Richard Nixon to move forward on the environment. The President is about to set guidelines that require all federal agencies to consider the environmental impacts of major projects. With this move President Obama will make good on his State of the Union promise to act alone if Republicans continue their obstructionist course on environmental issues. The new standards are being reviewed by the White House’s Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ).

The bold new move by the White House was covered in a March 15th Bloomberg report. The guidelines will be issued in the coming weeks and would apply across-the-board to all federal reviews. This directive will play a decisive role on a wide range of projects from highways to gas permits and it may well be the determining factor challenging the Keystone XL pipeline.

The fact that Obama is resurrecting Nixon’s ghost to advance his environmental policy is very significant. If nothing else, some younger Republicans may be forced to look back on the long forgotten environmental accomplishments of Republican presidents.

The Obama administration’s new standards expand the scope of a law signed by President Richard Nixon more than 40 years ago. This law is known as the National Environmental Policy Act, (NEPA), it forces agencies to assess project impacts on air, water and soil and publish the impacts before making decisions.

This was meant to give citizens and environmentalists an opportunity to comment before regulators act. The new guidelines will change the way NEPA reviews are conducted and may include projects on federal lands which were previously exempted.

Two of the things that might come from the new NEPA guidelines are reviews that factor both greenhouse gases and vulnerably to extreme weather like flooding and drought. Although details are still unclear, full reports will only be required for large scale projects (25,000 metric tons of CO2e emissions or more annually).

What appears to be clear is the fact that projects will not be stopped directly by the White House, instead we are likely to see lawsuits against federal projects which will set legal precedence that cannot be rescinded by subsequent by subsequent administrations.

Since CEQ first announced its proposal, more than three dozen federal approvals were challenged on climate grounds, including a highway project in North Carolina, a methane-venting plan for a coal mine in Colorado, and a research facility in California.

The fact that all new large scale projects could be forced to conduct in-depth lifecycle reviews has many environmentalists rejoicing. Predictably the news was greeted with derision by lobbying groups such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, American Petroleum Institute and the National Mining Association. All of whom would prefer to avoid climate change considerations altogether.

“It’s got us very freaked out,” said Ross Eisenberg, vice president of the National Association of Manufacturers, a Washington-based group that represents 11,000 companies such as Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) and Southern Co. (SO). Corporations that still live in a fantasy land that excludes environmental considerations have reason to be “freaked out.” But whether they like it or not the future beckons and they will be forced, some of them kicking an screaming, into a new era of responsible corporate conduct.

Lawyers and lobbyists are now waiting for the CEQ to complete its review before details of the new standards and guidelines are released.

© 2013, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

Related Articles
Will Obama’s Actions Match his Words?
Green Excerpts of President Obama’s 2013 State of the Union Address
President Obama’s 2013 Inaugural Address: “We Will Respond to the Threat of Climate Change”
Green Inauguration of President Obama: “Faith in America’s Future”
Hopes for Environmental Action in President Obama’s Second Term
President Obama’s Victory Speech: “The Best is Yet to Come”
Taking Stock of President Obama’s Environmental Efforts in His First Term

ShareTweetShare
Previous Post

Webinar – Rethinking Sustainability Communications: Brand Strategies, Risks & Opportunities

Next Post

White Paper & Case Study: Environmental Compliance Theory and Practice

Related Posts

russia's invasion of ukraine from the perspective of climate and energy

Russia’s War From a Climate Perspective

by Richard Matthews
March 14, 2022
0

January 24, 2022, is a day that will live in infamy. This is the day that the Russian Federation led by President Vladimir Putin launched an unprovoked war against the...

101 Environmental Victories of 2021

Despite the Headlines, 2021 Was A Year Full of Environmental Victories

by Richard Matthews
January 4, 2022
1

You cannot be faulted for failing to notice the long list of environmental wins that occurred in 2021.  Good news stories do not have the sensationalistic allure of dramatic prophecies...

Seasons Greetings from the Green Market Oracle

by Richard Matthews
December 24, 2021
0

Next Post

White Paper & Case Study: Environmental Compliance Theory and Practice

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • SoundCloud

Subscribe to the Blog

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Economics

Defining Sustainable Economic Systems – Development vs Growth

by Richard Matthews
April 20, 2022
0

Prevailing economic systems are not working and it is becoming increasingly clear that we require a paradigm shift to address...

Read more
List of private equity firms and investment funds that focus on on sustainable development goals: Climate action, clean energy, sustainable cities and communities, quality education, innovation and infrastructure, life below water, and life on land.

List of the Top Sustainability Focused Private Equity Firms

March 21, 2022
russia's invasion of ukraine from the perspective of climate and energy

Russia’s War From a Climate Perspective

March 14, 2022
Private Equity Firms Are Paving the Way to a More Sustainable Future

Private Equity Firms Are Paving the Way to a More Sustainable Future 

February 21, 2022
sustainably invested cash money

Top 12 Green Private Equity Firms

February 7, 2022
  • About
  • Climate Change
  • Energy
  • Business and Economics
  • Politics
  • Technology
  • Social Change
  • Events
  • Other

© 2021 Copyright The Green Market Oracle.

No Result
View All Result
  • Business and Economics
    • Leadership
    • Supply Chains
  • Economics
  • Energy
    • Fossil Fuels
    • Renewables
  • Climate Change
    • Greenhouse Gas Emissions
    • Biodiversity
    • Extreme Weather
    • Wildfires
  • Investing
  • Politics
    • American Politics
    • Canadian Politics
    • International Politics
  • Technology
    • Buildings
    • Carbon Capture
    • Food
    • Transportation
  • Social Change
    • Education
    • Activism
    • Psychology

© 2021 Copyright The Green Market Oracle.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In