Red, Green, and Blue

Shiva Nataraja is the Hindu god whose endless dance embodies creation, preservation, and destruction. For the past eight years, George W. Bush has lead the world in a dance of environmental destruction. Will Obama lead us in a dance of creation of renewable energy policies and environmental preservation? Like Nataraja, will Obama dance atop the demon Apasmara (aka Bush) who represents ignorance?

Obama was elected because he ran a campaign of optimism that countered the fear mongering of the Republican Party since 9/11.

In the eight days following election day, the world has been filled with hope. From energy policies to economic recovery, President-Elect Obama’s plans has been front page news.

Obama and Climate Change

Obama has called the earth a “planet in peril” and created a 30-point environmental plan that includes creating green jobs, reducing US oil consumption, and increasing renewable sources of energy.  John Podesta, part of Obama’s transition team, stated, “I anticipate him moving very aggressively and very rapidly on the whole question of transforming the energy platform in the United States from high carbon energy to low carbon energy.”  This week Obama sent Jason Grumet, a policy adviser who may be appointed to an energy post, to an environmental conference in DC sending the message his administration will act swiftly on climate change legislation. Grumet said, “The whole transition team felt it important to be here.” Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve been reading all week about Bush’s desire for a smooth transition–a “seamless handoff” to the Obama administration. Well, thanks for the concern George, but I’m not sure how seamless the handoff could be considering the ball you’re handing off is so badly beat up and worn down, battered and bruised…oh yeah, and poisoned.

I’m afraid a smooth transition would’ve required 8 years of care, concern, and sound decision making.

It would also be nice if you didn’t take every last opportunity to enact a wide array of federal regulations which would weaken government rules aimed at protecting consumers and the environment before leaving office in January.

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Bush Administration Believed to Be ‘Fast-Tracking’ Change in EPA Pollution Rule
A Last Push to Deregulate

He’ll reverse the Bush executive orders that opened public lands to oil drilling, the co-chair of his transition team said Sunday.

John Podesta, co-chair of Barack Obama’s transition team, indicated on Sunday that the president-elect would quickly use executive powers to reverse several Bush-era administrative rules, a few of which would have an immediate impact on U.S. environmental policy. Appearing on Fox News Sunday, Podesta, the Former chief of staff to Bill Clinton said, “There’s a lot the president can do using his executive authority without waiting for congressional action, and I think we’ll see the president do that.”

Read the rest of this entry »

It wasn’t just the economy on voters minds this election, or perhaps people realize that energy and economy go hand in hand.

In a nationwide poll conducted by Lake Research Partners for the Sierra Club on Monday the 3rd and Tuesday the 4th , 50% of voters said that energy issues where “personally important in deciding for whom to vote for President” this year.

62% said they remembered hearing at least something about energy issues and global warming from the rival campaigns. After all, who can forget the GOP mantra Drill, baby, drill? That mantra may have been a big hit in the red-meat-eating frenzy of the Republican convention, but it didn’t carry as well as the McCain campaign might have hoped. Based on what voters heard, 49% felt that Obama has a better plan for investing in clean energy and creating new jobs, with 35% for McCain.

Voters understood that there was a real choice between the two candidates in terms of energy policy, with 82% saying there was at least some difference, with 43% seeing a significant difference.

Read the rest of this entry »

Editor’s Note: This op-ed was written by students from the Presidio School of Management including Steve Pierson, Kaytea Petro, Lina Constantinovici and Brian Bishop. It does not represent the views of the institution.

First of all, congratulations on your resounding win! Many of us campaigned tirelessly for you, and we opened our doors and our hearts to join you in celebration last night. This is a great victory we will savor for years to come!

Americans have heard a great deal about hope and change during this election season. Together, those two words evoke a compelling vision for the future of our nation. Once the election is over, the questions for our policy makers (at all levels) will be how to move the nation towards this positive future, especially in the face of an economically challenged present. Read the rest of this entry »

Newsweek has released a new, intriguing article in their “Secrets of the 2008 Campaign” series.

Among the juicy tidbits is a pre-debate quote from Barack Obama about the challenge of solving environmental problems.

The package of secret tales includes stories about how both campaigns had their computer systems hacked, how Sarah Palin walked into a briefing in only a towel, and also has some worrisome anecdotes about increased threats of violence against the Obama family.

It would be folly to try to explain the context of the quote about going green from Obama myself, so here is the Newsweek segment verbatim:

The debates unnerved both candidates. When he was preparing for them during the Democratic primaries, Obama was recorded saying, “I don’t consider this to be a good format for me, which makes me more cautious. I often find myself trapped by the questions and thinking to myself, ‘You know, this is a stupid question, but let me … answer it.’ So when Brian Williams is asking me about what’s a personal thing that you’ve done [that's green], and I say, you know, ‘Well, I planted a bunch of trees.’ And he says, ‘I’m talking about personal.’ What I’m thinking in my head is, ‘Well, the truth is, Brian, we can’t solve global warming because I f—ing changed light bulbs in my house. It’s because of something collective’.”

To read Newsweek’s article that is full of great conversation fodder, click here.

Photo Credit: Obama Biden Campaign Website

Ever since Sarah Palin was selected to be John McCain’s vice-presidential runningmate she was on the receiving end of a rather public vetting that opened up some serious cracks that a more thorough private vetting certainly would have detected. I hate to pile on, but the latest revelation is so amazing to me, I couldn’t leave it alone.

On the O’Reilly Factor, Fox News’ Carl Cameron reported that a McCain-Palin rift was due in no small part to Gov. Palin’s lack of knowledge of basic civics, politics, and geography - and her unwillingness to prepare in light of those those deficiencies. Reportedly, McCain aides said Sarah Palin had: Read the rest of this entry »

There is no doubt that yesterday’s US presidential election was a historic event. No matter who you supported in the race, the fact that Americans elected a multiracial president is a significant event in a country where African Americans were once slaves.  It is an event that will be remembered for generations around the world, and people will remember where they were and what they were doing when they heard Barack Obama was the President-Elect of the United States of America.

I voted by absentee ballot, as there are no polling places in my tiny, mountain community.  On election day, I was headed home from a quick trip to Seal Beach, CA.  In order to avoid traffic, my twelve hour drive home began at 4:30 am.  As I drove by McCain/Palin signs in Republican Orange County and the vast farm lands of I-5, I began to doubt an Obama victory. We listened to talk radio, from conservative to liberal stations on the satellite, before finally setting on the BBC.  Hearing callers from around the world share their excitement and hope that Obama would win, I was moved at how this man has reached out to the world with the same message of hope and change he has given the American people.  Read the rest of this entry »

Many in Kenya hope that with Barack Obama as President, they will see more US support for development projects in their country, as well as an influx of eco-tourists.

Barack Obama has many relatives living in Kenya, but they aren’t the only ones rooting for him today.  Pretty much all Kenyans, including Cabinet ministers, religious leaders and businesspeople, said a victory by Obama would be good for the country.

Kenya has long been a popular destination among eco-tourists and some hope that with Obama as president, more will be drawn to visit the country.  Despite the uphill struggles faced by Kenya’s environmentalists, the tourism industry is definitely doing its part to save the country’s fragile wilderness. Read the rest of this entry »

Change, climate change, gasoline.

If you think you’ve heard those words a lot from our presidential candidates, you’re right. The Global Language Monitor, which has been tracking the entire Obama/McCain showdown, puts them as the top three “buzzwords” in this election.

Most of us have played the Buzzwords board game, but at GLM, “political buzzwords are terms or phrases that become loaded with emotional freight beyond the normal meaning of the word.” Read the rest of this entry »