At Georgetown University on June 25, President Obama gave a
major speech outlining his proposals to mitigate and adapt to climate change
after making mention of its importance in his inaugural address several months
ago.
Obama
presented what he called “a new national climate action plan,” which calls for
cutting carbon pollution and protecting the country from the impacts of extreme
weather. He plans to accomplish this by using less dirty energy, more clean
energy, and wasting less. How profound! Using adjectives such as
ambitious and bold, his plan is anything but that.
The
administration has pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 17% from their
2005 levels by the end of this decade, a paltry amount compared to the massive
reductions that are needed. Global warming pollution will be
regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Clean Air Act,
a law that has been around for 43 years and could have been used from the
get-go when carbon dioxide emissions began to spike in the 1970s, but has never
been given the teeth to halt pollution. Reformist environmentalists have
been calling for this for decades now.
In regard
to dirty fossil fuels and in keeping with his “all-of-the-above” energy
strategy presented earlier this year, Obama assured us and the Energy Giants
that their production will not “suddenly stop.” In fact, he wants to strengthen
the position of the United States as a top natural gas producer,
promising to work with industry to make drilling safer and cleaner. Anyone
who believes that is sorely deluded.
Part of
this strategy is to aid other countries to switch to natural gas as “a
transition fuel.” This will mean more domestic fracking of natural gas for
export and the building of dangerous liquefied natural gas (LNG)
ports. Its sale to other nations will be worked into global free-trade
agreements. In regard to the import of filthy, carbon-intensive tar sands crude
from Canada , Obama danced around the issue of
the Keystone XL Pipeline by saying that the State Department is still
evaluating it in terms of “national interests.”
Nothing was
said about phasing out coal-fired power plants. Apparently, EPA regulation
will ensure the installation of more effective pollution-control devices on old
and new electrical utilities, so we needn’t worry. He mentioned that his budget
calls for Congress to end tax breaks to Big Oil and increase investment in
renewable energy.
Obama
promised to double the amount of energy from wind and solar power by increasing
renewable energy capacity on public lands. This will probably mean more
capital-intensive mega-projects that disrupt ecosystems. The preferred
alternative is locally produced and distributed rooftop wind and solar
installations in urban centers and on industrial brown fields; this would be
far more ecological and efficient since the generated electricity would not
have to be transported through a massive grid at long distances.
Federal
facilities are to get 20% of their energy from renewable sources within the
next seven years. Military bases have been mandated to install three
gigawatts of renewable power—the Pentagon being the largest consumer of energy.
Among “renewables,” Obama also included wretched biofuels, which use cropland
to grow fuel stocks rather than food, and dangerous nuclear reactors.
With the
optimistic hope to reduce atmospheric carbon by three billion tons, Obama’s
energy-efficiency measures aim to get cars and trucks going twice as far than
the current standard on a gallon of gasoline. There was no mention
whatsoever of clean mass transit replacing private motor vehicles to haul
passengers and freight. In addition, appliances would be upgraded and
buildings retrofitted to reduce energy use and provide jobs. None of this is
either new or earthshaking in scope.
To aid
local governments in adapting to the harsh impacts of climate change, Obama
vowed to help fortify coastlines and restore natural barriers to withstand rising
sea levels and storm surges, and to strengthen infrastructure items such as
power grids, water systems, and fuel supplies so that services do not break
down and, paralyze urban centers—as was the case with Superstorm Sandy.
He also
proposed stricter construction standards for new buildings that could be struck
by natural disasters. However, if sea levels continue to rise as more land
ice melts, no amount of coastal reinforcement will hold back the water. Further
global heating must be nipped in the bud, and that will take vastly more effort
than the administration intends to exert.
All of
Obama’s proposals are to be market-based and are designed to enhance an
unsustainable growth economy that is already devouring resources beyond Earth’s
capacity. As long as costly wars are waged for access to more
hydrocarbons, minerals, and metals, there is no way to meet planetary
needs. As long as commodity production for private profit exists, there is
no way to meet human needs either. As long as it’s business as usual,
there is no way to save Mother Earth for human habitation.
With the 12
warmest years occurring in the last 15, Arctic sea ice shrinking to the
smallest extent and volume on record, and ocean temperatures soaring, the
greatest urgency is required. Over the last year, the nation’s weather has
swung from a combination of prolonged heat waves, extreme drought, and
wildfires to wet and soggy conditions for months on end. A one-foot rise
in sea level on the Mid-Atlantic coast was a major contributor to Hurricane
Sandy’s powerful storm surge last year. Plus, diminished snowpacks in the
thirsty Intermountain West have led to chronic drought and drinking-water
shortages.
Given the
magnitude of the problem that humanity faces, Obama’s greenhouse gas reductions
are wholly inadequate. That is simply because the president is beholden to his
masters, the Carbon Barons, who do not want to relinquish control over their
fossil-fuel-powered economy.
In order to
cool down the planet and prevent further ocean acidification, atmospheric
carbon must be drawn down to a safe 300-325 ppm. That requires that we
take radical measures to reduce to zero all greenhouse gas emissions
from all sources as soon as possible—with an immediate and massive
conversion to wind, solar, geothermal, and benign micro-hydro power.
If we
combine that with recycling, retooling industry for the green production of
basic necessities, and switching to organic farming, there is still the chance
that we can prevent catastrophic climate change and ensure a relatively decent
way of life for future generations.
This is our
only hope, but it will be accomplished, not by putting our faith in a Democrat
in the White House but in the power of the masses of working people and
oppressed to change things once they are aroused to act.
> The article above was written by Christine Frank of Socialist Action newspaper.
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