Obama Bypasses Congress Again On Climate Change

[SunsetDreams]

President Obama, who said last month that divisions in Congress are "too deep" to tackle climate change, bypassed Capitol Hill again this week with another effort to reduce climate-warming emissions.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced Thursday, accompanied by officials from Bangladesh, Canada, Ghana, Mexico and Sweden, a joint effort to curb the short-lived emissions of pollutants including soot (also called black carbon), methane and hydrofluorocarbons that account for 30% to 40% of global warming. The United States plans to contribute $12 million and Canada $3 million over two years to begin the project, which will be run by the United Nations Environment Program.

"One of the benefits of focusing on pollutants that are short-lived is, if we can reduce them significantly, we will have a noticeable effect on our climate in relatively short order," Clinton said at the State Department announcement. Scientists estimate that cutting these emissions can help prevent millions of deaths from pollution and lower global temperatures 0.5 degrees Celsius by 2050.

...

In the announcement, Clinton said the Obama administration is taking other steps, too, to address climate change. She cited its efforts to double the fuel economy of cars and trucks by 2025, boost the energy efficiency of commercial buildings and home appliances, generate more power from renewable sources and put a million electric vehicles on the road by 2015.

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/greenhouse/post/2012/02/obama-bypasses-congress-on-climate-change/1#.Tz6Xc_GPWNY

The Obama Administration has taken a series of important steps to reduce the harmful emissions that contribute to climate change and pollute our water and air.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/energy/climate-change#energy-menu

President Obama & EPA Protect Public Health, Announce Landmark Mercury Standard for Power Plants

Washington, DC – Today, President Obama and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the first-ever nationwide standard for mercury and air toxics pollution from power plants. A record 907,000 Americans submitted comments on the standard, which is expected to cut toxic mercury pollution from power plants by 90 percent.

“Today President Obama stood up to the polluters and protected kids’ health,” said Margie Alt, Executive Director of Environment America. “This landmark achievement reflects what every parent knows, which is that powering our homes should not poison kids.”

Power plants are the largest single source of mercury pollution in the U.S., and exposure to mercury and other air toxics is linked to cancer, heart disease, neurological damage, birth defects, asthma attacks and premature death. Right now, mercury pollution is so widespread that one in ten American women of childbearing age has enough mercury in her blood to put her baby at risk, should she become pregnant. By limiting emissions of mercury and air toxics from power plants, the Obama administration’s new standard is expected to prevent 130,000 cases of childhood asthma symptoms and save 11,000 lives every year.

For decades, the coal industry, many utilities and their allies in Congress and past administrations have successfully delayed cutting mercury and other toxic air pollutants from power plants to protect public health, even though technology to control toxic air pollution is widely available, and already being used by some power plants.

http://www.environmentamerica.org/news/ame/president-obama-epa-protect-public-health-announce-landmark-mercury-standard-power-plants

[ProSense]

1. I posted

Kerry's statement here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002319899

[SunsetDreams]

2. thanks going to go read it

[HopeHoops]

3. At least SOMEBODY in Washington is doing something useful!

[politicasista]

4. Kick

[redqueen]

5. K&R

[ProSense]

6. Kick! n/t