Obama to make major climate change announcement with executive orders tomorrow.

[geek tragedy]

http://news.yahoo.com/expect-presidents-big-climate-change-speech-154430321.html;_ylt=AwrNUWz6N8dRtkwAJQD_wgt.

The President is expected to use his executive powers to adopt a wide array of climate change measures, but no one is 100% sure what those measures are just yet. Reuters reports the President will detail "a strategy to limit greenhouse gas emissions from existing power plants" to cap U.S. carbon dioxide emissions. (Power plants account for more than 40 percent of domestic CO2 emissions.) The Washington Post reports the President will also announce new short-term goals:

In the speech at Georgetown University, according to individuals briefed on the matter who asked not to be identified because the plan was not yet public, Obama will detail a government-wide plan to not only reduce the nation’s carbon output but also prepare the United States for the near-term impacts of global warming.

They said those measures would include programs to enhance the resilience of coastal communities as well as Agriculture Department “climate adaptation hubs” that could help farmers cope with changes in temperature and precipitation.

I predict this will generate much more criticism than praise, unfortunately. The Republicans and Big Carbon will blast it, while it will be met with apathy on the left, to the extent it's not entirely ignored by them.

[NV Whino]

1. What? He's going to tell the glaciers to stop melting?

[Puzzledtraveller]

2. LMAO

[geek tragedy]

3. As I predicted . . . nt

[Puzzledtraveller]

4. guffaw

[ProSense]

6. Mitt Romney Jokes About The Rising Oceans And Climate Change

Mitt Romney Jokes About The Rising Oceans And Climate Change
http://www.democraticunderground.com/101773712

Romney's Rising Oceans Joke
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021242140

[geek tragedy]

9. Climate change only matters if Obama does something wrong on it. nt

[Junkdrawer]

5. Keystone XL????

[hatrack]

7. 4:45 pm, Friday of Labor Day weekend

At least, that's my best guesstimate for when the press release about State's approval will go out.

[geek tragedy]

8. Don't own a crystal ball.

Obama's political instincts are pretty piss poor if he does approve it.

The right is going to be pissed off about tomorrow's announcement, whereas the left won't give a shit about it.

Then, if he announces approval of XL, he wont' get any credit from the right but tons of blowback from the left.

[Javaman]

10. my prediction...

DU will quickly divide into two camps. Those who support the President and those who don't.

It will quickly devolve into name calling, banned members, removed posts and lots of ignores.

All the while completely ignoring, forgetting or misquoting the President.

And all of this will ignite DU with countless posts until the next news cycle.

Did I miss something?

[geek tragedy]

12. That presumes that people will be paying attention here.

Given that immigration reform has been completely ignored here, safe bet that substantive policy-making will also get ignored if there's nothing to foster outrage.

[Javaman]

13. Very good point.

There is certainly a matrix as to how and what becomes controversial on DU.

why some topics certainly deserve attention and get none and those that should be allowed to die, live on and on.

I think a topic becomes a DU controversy when someone first misinterprets whatever post, then posts a counter post to express their misplaced outrage. The the pile on continues.

It's really a fascinating viral thing that happens with certain topics.

[geek tragedy]

14. it's very simple--if a topic gives people a chance to complain about a high profile figure, it gets

attention here.

Double points if that high profile figure is Obama.

[Javaman]

15. Yes, I agree...

There will always be the hot button issues as well. The higher the profile the person is that says whatever that is quoted in whatever post, will garner the full spectrum of DU replies. And the same goes with (as I said referred to above) known controversial topics.

But my favorite are the non-sequitors. The ones that ordinarily wouldn't generate more than a glance on ordinary days, but for what ever reason certain DU members become obsessed with it and dominate a the thread. I find those absolutely fascinating.

Two threads from DU past occur to me because 1)the sheer comedic value 2) the DU member who dominated the threads had no idea what they were talking about regarding the actual facts of the topic 3) the complete obsessive compulsion to be right in the face of overwhelming facts.

The two thread were (sorry I don't have the links, I think the mods or admin removed them) "the bombing of the moon" and the now infamous "I will not be silenced" regarding the now defunct "unrec" button.

While I did take part in the threads myself, I can't even begin to describe the amazement by which those two threads "exploded" with comments. It was truly fascinating witness.

[Larkspur]

11. I think this is an attempt to give him cover for approving the Keystone XL pipeline in the near

future.

While I applaud his effort on this critical topic, approving the Keystone Pipeline will overshadow any of President Obama's other attempts at addressing climate change.


James Hansen slams Keystone XL Canada-U.S. Pipeline: “Exploitation of tar sands would make it implausible to stabilize climate and avoid disastrous global climate impacts”
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2011/06/05/236978/james-hansen-keystone-pipeline-tar-sands-climate/

[cali]

16. I'm hopeful about this. However,

I find recent decisions by the EPA alarming. Yes, the issues are closely tied.

http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/306961-epa-wont-confirm-fracking-link-to-wyoming-water-pollution-

The E.P.A. Backs Off on Factory Farms

The Environmental Protection Agency is obliged under the Clean Water Act to monitor America’s waterways and shield them from the toxic runoff from factory farms. But the growth of that industry, and its courtroom tenacity, has far outstripped the E.P.A.’s efforts to restrict runoff from manure lagoons and feedlots.

Last year, the agency meekly withdrew two proposed rules. One would have gathered basic information from all factory farms. The other proposed rule would have expanded the number of such farms required to have a national pollution discharge permit. Fewer than 60 percent do now.

Then, last week, in yet another retreat, the agency announced that promised new regulations governing feedlot discharges nationally would not be forthcoming

According to the E.P.A.’s own studies, agricultural runoff is the leading cause of impaired water quality. The amount of manure produced by factory farms is staggering. The agency estimates that those operations create between 500 million and 1 billion tons of manure, three times as much waste as humans produce in the United States. The task of keeping those hundreds of millions of tons of animal waste out of rivers, lakes and estuaries is enormous, clearly requiring a strong set of revised regulations for the handling of factory-farm waste, including provisions for tracking waste when it’s been moved offsite.

<snip>

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/15/opinion/the-epa-backs-off-on-factory-farms.html?_r=0