On energy and human-driven global warming, President Obama?s State of the Union address (and the background sheet providing detail behind the talking points) had something for everyone, making it hard ? outside of a couple of specific proposals ? to figure out how much action might follow the smoothly delivered rhetoric.
His statements about steps to address climate change were hailed by self-described ?climate hawks? even though they were accompanied by lines like this one, clearly targeted at a different audience:
[M]y administration will keep cutting red tape and speeding up new oil and gas permits. That?s got to be part of an all-of-the-above plan.
He included strong, and predictable, language pledging to use executive authority on various fronts to restrict greenhouse gases in the absence of new laws from Congress. (The best primer on what?s possible using that power is by Bill Becker and the Presidential Climate Action Project.)
[7:26 p.m. | Updated |?Much more background on the administration's?energy?and?climate?policies has been distributed now.]
As Obama hit the road to press his agenda on Wednesday, Americans were posting thousands of questions through a White House ?Ask Obama? invitation to participate on Thursday in a Google+ ?Fireside Hangout? with the president. Here?s the question I posted tonight:
A Dot Earth Question for President Obama on Energy and Climate
Most Americans, even many unconcerned by global warming, want energy thrift, safe gas drilling, more science and resilience to climate extremes, whatever the cause. Why not tour the nation to enlist this force and overcome edge-driven politics?
What would you ask?
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