Environmental State of the Union

So President Obama has delivered his 2011 State of the Union. And while the environment wasn’t entirely AWOL, it sure wasn’t the focus.

This was clearly a retrenchment, and a hand reaching across the aisle. How not? If he’s going to accomplish anything in the next two year, he’s going to need to get something through the House of Representatives. And as both Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Michelle Bachman (Tea Party/R- MN) made clear, that’s not going to be easy.

One big exception to the general nice-making: taking on the oil companies. “We need to get behind this innovation. And to help pay for it, I’m asking Congress to eliminate the billions in taxpayer dollars we currently give to oil companies. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but they’re doing just fine on their own. So instead of subsidizing yesterday’s energy, let’s invest in tomorrow’s.”

What was missing?

Climate change. Global warming. Carbon.

Those words did not appear. Nor did other red-flag words that would have given red meat to the red-staters. When words like “regulation” came up, it was in the context of “too much”. Here are the Republican talking points he co-opted:

• American exceptionalism – “America still has the largest, most prosperous economy in the world. No workers are more productive than ours. No country has more successful companies, or grants more patents to inventors and entrepreneurs. We are home to the world’s best colleges and universities, where more students come to study than any other place on Earth”
• The deficit – “We need to take responsibility for our deficit, and reform our government.”
• Free enterprise - “Our free enterprise system is what drives innovation. But because it’s not always profitable for companies to invest in basic research, throughout history our government has provided cutting-edge scientists and inventors with the support that they need.”
• Small business – “We’re not just handing out money. We’re issuing a challenge.  We’re telling America’s scientists and engineers that if they assemble teams of the best minds in their fields, and focus on the hardest problems in clean energy, we’ll fund the Apollo Projects of our time.”
• Regulation – “To reduce barriers to growth and investment, I’ve ordered a review of government regulations. When we find rules that put an unnecessary burden on businesses, we will fix them.”
• Transparency - “…We will also work to rebuild people’s faith in the institution of government.  Because you deserve to know exactly how and where your tax dollars are being spent, you will be able to go to a website and get that information for the very first time in history. Because you deserve to know when your elected officials are meeting with lobbyists, I ask Congress to do what the White House has already done: put that information online.”
• Earmarks (a surprisingly strong statement, here) – “…Because the American people deserve to know that special interests aren’t larding up legislation with pet projects, both parties in Congress should know this: if a bill comes to my desk with earmarks inside, I will veto it.”

The environment was pretty much AWOL. But there was a lot of talk about energy, and jobs. Here’s the rundown of green-friendly points:

• Innovation and research - “This is our generation’s Sputnik moment. Two years ago, I said that we needed to reach a level of research and development we haven’t seen since the height of the Space Race… We’ll invest… in clean energy technology – an investment that will strengthen our security, protect our planet, and create countless new jobs for our people.
• Green jobs - ”Because it’s not always profitable for companies to invest in basic research, throughout history our government has provided cutting-edge scientists and inventors with the support that they need.  That’s what planted the seeds for the Internet. That’s what helped make possible things like computer chips and GPS. Just think of all the good jobs – from manufacturing to retail – that have come from those breakthroughs.”
• Solar power -”Robert and Gary Allen are brothers who run a small Michigan roofing company. After September 11th, they volunteered their best roofers to help repair the Pentagon. But half of their factory went unused, and the recession hit them hard. Today, with the help of a government loan, that empty space is being used to manufacture solar shingles…”
• Biofuels and alternative transportation – “With more research and incentives, we can break our dependence on oil with biofuels, and become the first country to have 1 million electric vehicles on the road by 2015.”
• Renewable energy – “by 2035, 80% of America’s electricity will come from clean energy sources. Some folks want wind and solar. Others want nuclear, clean coal, and natural gas. To meet this goal, we will need them all – and I urge Democrats and Republicans to work together to make it happen.”
• Regulation (the only nod toward carbon and climate change) – “But I will not hesitate to create or enforce commonsense safeguards to protect the American people.  That’s what we’ve done in this country for more than a century. It’s why our food is safe to eat, our water is safe to drink, and our air is safe to breathe. It’s why we have speed limits and child labor laws.”
• High-speed rail – “Within 25 years, our goal is to give 80% of Americans access to high-speed rail.”

More of our State of the Union Coverage:

• The GOP SOTU Response: To Win The Future, We Must Return to the Past
• State of the Union – Full Text