Welcome to the first addition of “Renewed World Order,” a vertical news thread of opinions and observations concerning President-elect Obama’s emerging environmental agenda.  Keep up with what gets passed and what gets passed on right here.

Full NYT article here.

The plumage of clean coal puffs its way back into the political face at a special panel discussion at Stamford University with an emphasis on “dis.”  Al Gore took aim at misconceptions of “clean coal” and “Big Coal” in his speech giving advice and awaking eco-demons summoned during this past election.

This article points out is how most swing states are coal states and how playing the sweet song of the clean coal peace pipe could soothe voters whose livelihoods depend on mining.  As a tactic, it was used on both sides and we’ll see if Obama chooses to make good on his promises to develop clean coal technologies as did President Bush… and we can see how much got done there.

If you’ve got a suggestion for President-elect Obama, submit it directly to him on the official website of his administration, Change.gov.

President-elect Obama wasn’t the only one to receive overwhelming support from voters on Election Day.  It seems the planet proved just as popular.

The Clean Air Initiative made the ballot in Missouri and was firmly approved 66% to 34%.  It has created a renewable electricity standard that requires utility companies to gradually increase their usage of renewable energy to 15% state-wide and requires that energy rates not increase by more than one percent annually.

Hans Detweiler of the American Wind Energy Association:

The requirement in renewable energy standards around the country has been demonstrated to be significantly more successful.  When you look at the states that have renewable energy standards, all of those states are the leading states for renewable energy development and wind energy development.

With 86% of Missouri’s electricity coming from costly and dirty coal-fired plants, this is a breath of much needed fresh air.

For more on this and other planetary policies, click here for the results of the winning and losing policies from the 2008 Presidential Election.

Photo by prettywar-stl.

For more insights from Hans Detweiler on wind energy, green jobs, and AWEA’s work with President-Elect Obama, click below.

Read the rest of this entry »

Is it audacious to hope for an environmentally conscious President?

Meet the Democrats!

The Democratic National Convention roared through Denver with as many protests, covert meetings, and celebrity sightings as staged celebrations.  Here are some of the key points to consider with the Obama/Biden bill:

1.) Senator Obama’s so-called New Energy Plan promises 5 million new green collar jobs by strategically investing 150 billion dollars over the next 10 years to build a new clean energy grid.

2.) Deleware Senator Joe Biden has a fairly consistent voting record with environmentalists and has stated that “energy security” is his top priority.

and 3.) The team pledges to implement an economy-wide cap-and-trade program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent before the year 2050.

Make the candidates work for your vote and for more on how the DNC went Green, click here.

Photo by Learfield News.

Full coverage here.

Green Air Filter:

It is official. Barack Obama has finally won the Democratic nomination that many have long expected him to take reign of. And of course we all know what this means (at least for us at Green Air); it is time to put his environmental policy under close scrutiny.

Obama is a fan of carbon cap and carbon credits. Setting up incentives for proper climate control is the latest trend in appeasing the captains of industry for whom making money comes first. Obama also totes the renewable fuel cellulosic ethanol as the solution for the nation’s oil dependency. However, one does have to consider whether Obama’s enthusiasm is influenced by the importance of the Iowa Caucus.

The most inspiring part of Obama’s environmental policy lies in the leadership he plans to take. Obama aims to create forums that can focus on the global energy crisis as well as work on an international level. Obama also plans on furthering research and education that will no doubt act as the innovation that can finally make a real change in the way the nation deals with our fuel and energy problems. Surely, if we could put a man on the moon 40 years ago…

Photo by Thomas Brodahl.