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In a stunning reversal of Bush-era policy, the Obama Administration has announced plans to begin regulating carbon dioxide and other greenhouse emissions as pollutants under federal law, paving the way for the United States to embark on a comprehensive program to address the climate crisis and end eight years of denial, obstruction and delay. |
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"Even with the Supreme Court behind us, the Bush Administration still chose to bury its head in the sand," says David Doniger, policy director at NRDC's Climate Center, referring to the Court's 2007 decision in which it ruled that greenhouse gases could be regulated as pollutants under the Clean Air Act. "Now we're seeing real leadership and progress."
Led by Lisa Jackson, the Environmental Protection Agency has already unveiled a proposal to monitor more than 85 percent of the nation's global warming emissions from major industry and transportation. But that wasn't the only piece of good news emanating from the White House. In his first address to Congress, the president reiterated his support for limiting greenhouse gas pollution, calling on the House and Senate to pass legislation that would create a market-based cap on carbon emissions while at the same time boosting production of renewable energy like wind and solar. The goal: to double the nation's output of such energy in the next three years, and by 2020 to reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 20 percent below 2005 levels.
In what may be the most ambitious green energy program ever to emerge from Washington, the president released a budget plan that seeks to invest $150 billion over the next decade in clean energy and efficiency. "By following this vision, we can become the world's leader in renewable energy instead of its biggest importer of oil," says Dan Lashof, director of NRDC's Climate Center. "We can create millions of new jobs at home, putting people to work in ways that will prevent the worst impacts of global warming instead of letting the climate crisis take its course." NRDC is building national support for the president's global warming and clean energy plans.
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