Wednesday, September 9, 2015

The good, the bad, and the ugly responses to Obama's new environmental initiative


Obama just crossed another thing off his Rhymes-With-Bucket List.

On Aug. 3, 2015, just one month before his historic trip to Alaska, President Obama announced his Clean Power Plan that aims to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 32% in 15 years. This eco-friendly initiative aims to position the United States as a world leader in environmental economics by regulating pollution-heavy industries like coal and incentivizing sustainable energy sources.

Cause for celebration, right? Well, reactions in the Wild West of the Twittersphere have run the gamut. From the good ... to the bad ... to the downright ugly. Here's a recap:

THE GOOD

The Clean Power Plan promises to create tens of thousands of new jobs. But it's not just lip service — studies have shown that clean energy gives rise to more robust economies. Hooray for economics!

It's shaping up to be especially beneficial for low-income and minority communities. Go team!

Politicians, scientists, and other experts working together toward a common goal? What a novel concept!

I'm just including this one for POTUS lookin' suave.

And there it is, all summed up in one easy image!

THE BAD (AND THE UGLY)

Look, as someone with a bit of Oppositional Defiant Disorder, I get the whole "You can't tell me what to do!" attitude. But I'm willing to let it slide when it comes to, you know, the future of the entire planet.

Um, whaat? This is called a false equivalence, and like all logical fallacies, it's, well, not logical.

This is one of the more civil criticisms of President Obama that I've seen on Twitter. Take that as you will.

Yes. Yes, we have heard that before, and it turned our to be the truth (barring a few rare exceptions).

Hi, can we please start putting our collective health and future ahead of individual gain? K thanks.

A few loud detractors can't change the fact that we're headed toward a brighter, cleaner future.

It's only fair to acknowledge that the Clean Power Plan is not 100% perfect. But few things ever are (especially in politics). If we waited any longer to take action — if the country continued to get bogged down in bureaucratic details — it might be too late for us to make a difference. And judging by the overwhelmingly positive responses to the plan, it's clear that most of us were eager for something like this to happen.

But many of us are eager for more.


If we want a sustainable future, we all have to do our part. You can start by telling President Obama to stop Shell from drilling for oil in the Arctic Ocean. Because green initiatives can do a lot, but they can't fix an oversight like this.


Thumbnail photo by Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images.



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