Trump's First 100 Days are a Climate and Environmental Nightmare

Trump's first 100 days have been a dismal failure. Trump failed to deliver on almost every single one of his promises leading many to conclude that the self-proclaimed deal-maker can't seem to close. True to his word he is making progress on one front, depriving Americans of clean air and clean water.

Trumps Muslim ban failed, his attempt to pass health-care legislation also failed. Congress will not finance his wall and nor will Mexico.  Rather than drain the swamp he has made the swamp bigger. The president has rewarded the wealthy on the backs of the poor and the middle class. His one-page reward-the-rich tax plan does not have a snowball's chance in hell of passing and if it were ever enacted by Congress it would trigger economic ruin.

Republicans Trying to Kill the EPA Quickly

Trump drew first blood with an Executive Order that enfeebled some of the EPA's activities, now Republicans are going in for the kill. They recently proposed a bill that seeks to abolish the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Known as H.R.861, the bill has the following self-explanatory title: "To terminate the Environmental Protection Agency."

While this bill is unbelievably destructive for the American people it should come as no surprise when you consider Republican obstructionism for the last eight years and the man who is now President of the United States. Within his first two weeks in office, Trump signed an Executive Order that targeted the EPA.

Hilary Maintains her Climate Silence as O'Malley Pushes his Green Agenda (Iowa Democratic Presidential Town Hall)

Hilary Clinton, Bernie Sanders and Martin O'Malley are the three remaining candidates seeking the Democratic nomination for president. On January 25th they fielded a barrage of questions from voters in a town hall meeting at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, The moderator was CNN anchor Chris Cuomo.

O'Malley emerged from the Iowa Town Hall as the greenest of the three candidates with Sanders trailing some distance behind. O'Malley bluntly stated that "this planet is worth saving," and Sanders reaffirmed his commitment to tackle climate change. Hilary remained silent on climate and clean energy and let her rivals steal the green thunder.

Climate and Energy Excerpts from the Fourth Democratic Primary Debate

Three candidates met for the fourth Democratic debate hosted by NBC News and YouTube and moderated by anchor Lester Holt. The debate took place in Charleston, South Carolina, on Sunday January 17th. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley were present for the debate. However, except for a passing reference to renewables ("I would work quickly to present to the congress my plans for creating more...clean and renewable energy...") Clinton did not address climate change or energy issues. Hilary's silence on these importance issues in the fourth debate mirrors her strategy in the preceding debate.

Here are the climate and energy remarks made by Sanders and O'Malley during the fourth debate:

Republican Climate Avoidance and the Sixth GOP Debate

Republican candidates for president seem to think that if you ignore the climate crisis American voters won't notice. During the sixth Republican debate there was no mention of climate change or global warming, the COP21 deal, renewable energy, cleantech, or the low carbon economy, and of course nary a word was uttered on emissions or greenhouse gases.

Climate change was a no show in the first Republican debate, the CNBC presidential debate and in the November debate they made their opposition to climate action clear. Republican presidential candidates have stated that they do not believe we should not do anything to combat climate change.

Obama Signs Executive Order to Reduce GHGs in the Federal Government and Across their Supply Chain

President Obama is leading by example and significantly reducing the federal government's greenhouse gas emissions. In the first week of November the President signed an executive order that cuts emissions and weaves sustainability into the fabric of the federal government.

The move will cut government greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 40 percent and avert 26 million metric tons of GHG emissions by 2025. The White House claims that this will save tax payers up to $18 billion in energy costs and increase the share of federal energy derived from renewables by at least 25 percent.

Climate Excerpts from the CBS Democratic Primary Debate

The CBS Democratic Democratic primary debate took place in Des Moines, Iowa on Saturday November 14th. Here are the climate related excerpts from that debate. The moderator for the debate was CBS News political director John Dickerson. Hilary Clinton summarized the field of Democratic candidates for President when she said, "All of us believe climate change is real."

The US and China Working Together on Climate Change

The US and China have well earned reputations as the global leaders in greenhouse gas emissions so the fact that the two nations are working together to combat climate change is very significant. Together their combined emissions account for around 40 percent of the world’s greenhouse gases. However, the leaders of both nations are making prodigious strides in efforts to reduce their footprints.

In addition to its global leadership in utility scale renewable energy projects, China has a stated goal of installing 8 gigawatts of distributed solar generation in 2014. The Chinese government has also set stringent restrictions on diesel emissions with the aim of eliminating trucks that produce significant amounts of things like nitrogen oxide and carbon monoxide. Perhaps the most significant action taken by China involves its pledge to cut carbon pollution.

The Implications of Curbing US Power Plant Emissions

The new rules curbing power plant emissions in the U.S. will have far reaching impacts both domestically and around the world. Curbing emissions from power plants is part of President Obama’s Climate Action Plan which he announced in 2013. Last September, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released proposed standards to curb U.S. greenhouse gas (GHG) from new power plants. On June 2nd of this year, the EPA announced it will restrict emissions including carbon, nitrogen oxides, and sulfur dioxide by more than 25 percent by 2030 from all power plants. The EPA guidelines also include plans to prepare the U.S. for the effects of climate change, including strengthening roads, bridges and shorelines.

To circumvent the obstinacy of Republicans, the President is using his executive authority and putting forward the new rules under the Clean Air Act. The historic announcement will reduce carbon pollution from power plants by almost one third (30 percent) from 2005 levels by 2030. Even more significantly, they may spur global action that enables us to secure a binding climate treaty in 2015.

Cantor's Loss to the Tea Party Kills Any Hope for Green Legislation

The defeat of Eric Cantor by Tea Party candidate David Brat in Virginia means that we can expect the deadlock in Congress to continue. This is particularly true with regard to energy, environment and climate legislation. While the GOP is well known for being anti-science and anti-environment, Tea Party Republicans are far more likely to be climate deniers than their mainstream Republican counterparts. Cantor is no friend of the environment but he has lost to someone that is far less likely to support even the most rudimentary green legislation.

When it comes to climate change there is a stark partisan divide between Republicans and Democrats, but the tendency towards denial is far more pronounced among Tea Party Republicans.

Video - The White House's Climate Assessment Explained

Referencing the White House's Climate Assessment, Dr. John Holdren, President Obama's Science Advisor, says that climate change "is not a distant threat, it is affecting the American people already."

Depending on where you are in the US, summers are longer and hotter, we are seeing more wildfires and allergies as well as heatwaves, extreme precipitation events, storm surges, draught and other impacts on agriculture. To learn more about President Obama's climate action place click here.

Obama and Hollande Call for Climate Action

The French and American Presidents have called for an ambitious global climate agreement. The French President, Francois Hollande has joined forced with US President Barack Obama to ask the world to increase clean energy, create jobs and help developing countries transition to a low carbon economy.

President Hollande arrived in the US on Monday, the same day that the leaders issued an op-ed that was published in the Washington Post and Le Monde newspapers.

The Paradox of President Obama's All of the Above Energy Strategy

Staying within prescribed climate change limits will be difficult under Obama’s all-of-the-above strategy. Although Obama may be the greenest President in American history he is not doing enough to stave off the worst impacts of climate change. In his State of the Union address, he did talk about the veracity of climate change and the need to further reduce America’s greenhouse gas emissions, however his ongoing support for fossil fuel extraction is dangerous and imperils hopes that we can tackle the issue of climate change before we reach irreversible tipping points.

The President made many laudable points during his address including his desire to increase protections for air, water, land and American communities. He quite correctly explained that, “we have to act with more urgency because a changing climate is already harming western communities struggling with drought and coastal cities dealing with floods.”

The President touted the growth of solar power saying: “[W]e’re becoming a global leader in solar too. Every four minutes another American home or business goes solar, every panel pounded into place by a worker whose job can’t be outsourced.”

President Obama's 2014 State of the Union Address: Summary and Green Highlights

President Obama's 2014 state of the union address did reference carbon pollution and the need for more action on climate change, but environmental concerns did not receive the attention that some had hoped for.

The President's focus was on continuing to grow the nations economy and provide more jobs. He citing the "more than 8 million new jobs our businesses have created over the past four years." Much of his speech addressed the issue of education. He boasted that "America's graduation rate to its highest levels in more than three decades." The President further elaborated his focus on education stating that America needs to focus on building "tomorrows workforce." He talked about innovative private sector funding for pre k, and making it easier for kids to afford college. He also explained that he has directed Vice President Biden to work on new training and apprenticeship programs.

Video - Hope for 2014: What Obama is Doing to Combat Climate Change

President Obama's Climate Change Strategy announced in the summer of 2013, gives us reason to hope that the world's wealthiest and most influential nation will assume a leadership role in efforts to combat climate change.

Obama Increases Federal Renewable Energy Adding to His Climate Action Plan

In his most recent effort to combat climate change, US President Barack Obama has indicated that he will triple the amount of federal energy derived from renewable sources. This is another significant step forward in the effort to curtail US greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Although impeded by Republicans at every turn under Obama's leadership federal agencies have already decreased their carbon emissions by 15 percent.

In response to Republicans hell-bent efforts to shut down his legislative agenda, the President has once again been forced to use his executive privileges to advance the federal governments efforts to combat climate change. His latest executive order was signed on Thursday December 5, and it will nearly triple the federal government's use of renewable energy from 7 percent to more than 20 percent.

Obama Signs a Climate Change Resilience Executive Order

On the morning of Friday November 1, 2013, President Obama signed an executive order (EO) designed to prepare the country for climate-related disasters. Climate change adaptation cannot wait for the Congress, so the President is using his executive privileges to do what they won't.

This is a tangible follow-up to his Climate Action Plan which the President unveiled in June. Obama has clearly grown weary of Republican obstructionism in Congress. Their knee jerk opposition to almost anything that he or the Democrats propose is making a farcical comedy of America's democracy (particularly anything to do wilth climate change).

Gore on the Government Shutdown and Climate Change: Congress is Pathetic

Former Vice-President Al Gore appeared on Pivot's late night talk show TakePart Live on October 22nd, to discuss the 24 Hours of Reality: The Cost of Carbon event and his on-going fight for worldwide climate issues and environmental awareness. The former Vice President also responded to questions about the government shutdown.

When asked about his thoughts on the recent government shutdown Mr. Gore replied:

"Congress is pathetic right now. There are some awful good people in Congress trapped in a bad system. The truth is our democracy has been hacked, big money now calls the shots. That my sound like a radical statement but less and less to people who have been paying attention to what's been going on there."

Government Shutdown: Environmental Impacts and Republican Extortion

Republicans held America hostage for 16 days and undermined efforts to protect America's air, water, food and natural resources.  They unsuccessfully sought to extort a ransom in the form a number of anti-environment riders.

This circus would be comical if the impacts were not so serious. Only at the eleventh hour was legislation passed that enabled the government to reopen and avert a debt default. However, these are temporary fixes and the same issues will have to be dealt with again early in 2014.