Politics

On Monday March 4, President Barack Obama announced that an air quality expert would be his nominee for the head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). As a veteran of the EPA, Gina McCarthy is a good choice to replace Lisa Jackson as administrator. The 58 year old McCarthy earned a B.A., from the University of Massachusetts and has an M.S., from Tufts University. She is married to Kenneth McCarey; and has three children. One of the more interesting aspects of McCarthy's previous work experience is the fact that she is a former employee of Mitt Romney. She was commissioner,...

President Obama has reasserted his commitment to addressing climate change in his 2013 State of the Union address. Here are climate and energy related excerpts of the President's address. The American people don't expect government to solve every problem. They don't expect those of us in this chamber to agree on every issue. But they do expect us to put the nation's interests before party. They do expect us to forge reasonable compromise where we can. For they know that America moves forward only when we do so together; and that the responsibility of improving this union remains the task...

There are those who do not believe that President Barack Obama is serious about tackling climate change. Although President Obama made strong statements indicating his willingness to engage climate issues at the beginning of his first term, he ended up doing less than some had hoped. Similarly, during his inaugural address at the beginning of his second term he reiterated his commitment to reduce America's contributions to climate change. During the 2012 election very little was said on environmental issues. This all changed on inauguration day when the President stated that he intends to act on climate issues. The President's...

President Obama marked the start of his second term with a bold inaugural speech at the Capitol. With renewed determination the President reached beyond the partisan divide and showed true leadership. Speaking directly to the American people the President clearly stated that the United States will engage climate change. Here are excerpts of the President's remarks: For more than two hundred years, we have...made ourselves anew, and vowed to move forward together. Together, we discovered that a free market only thrives when there are rules to ensure competition and fair play. Together, we resolved that a great nation must care...

The public Presidential inauguration ceremony took place on Monday, January 21, and event organizers paid unprecedented attention to environmental sustainability. The official Inauguration Day was January 20th. However, as that date falls on a Sunday in 2013, the public swearing-in ceremony was held on Monday, January 21, 2013, at 11:30 a.m. ET, with the official event taking place at 11:55 a.m. This year's official theme is "Faith in America's Future." One of the unique touches that define the unique quality of President Obama's inauguration are the efforts to make the event more environmentally sustainable. The green elements of this year's...

At the end of a hard-fought campaign, President Obama won the popular vote and he earned 303 electoral college votes to 206 for Republican challenger Mitt Romney. The Senate remains under the control of the Democrats however, the House remains under the control of Republicans. Now the hard work of bridging a divided nation will commence. Here is the full transcript of President Obama's victory speech: ______________________________________________ Tonight, more than 200 years after a former colony won the right to determine its own destiny, the task of perfecting our union moves forward. It moves forward because of you. It moves forward because...

The election of 2012 offers the stark contrast between fossil fuels like coal and clean renewable energy. Obama Supports wind power while Romney supports energy derived from coal. Each candidate offers a different conception of America's energy future. Romney wants to see even more fossil fuel being burned while Obama wants to grow renewable sources of energy like windthat have no emissions. The President derided Romney's stance on wind power while Romney said Obama is waging a "war on coal." The Obama administration through the EPA has enacted regulations on new power plants that make it harder to build new...

Yesterday March 29, prior to welcoming the G8 foreign ministers for a meeting on global security, Lawrence Cannon, Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs hosted a summit of five Arctic coastal countries (Canada, Russia, the U.S., Norway and Denmark). The talks addressed continental shelf delineation, resource development, national security, shipping routes and environmental protection. Technically, the Arctic is the area within the Arctic Circle, but we can also think of the Arctic as the area north of the treeline, where there is only tundra and the Arctic Ocean, or the area where the average temperature for the warmest month is below...

Companies are being held accountable by an increasingly well informed public. In response, governments are enacting laws to protect the environment. Under these laws corporations are being successfully prosecuted. In Canada, the Competition Bureau and Canadian Standards Association are planning to release new guidelines on the use of environmental terms. In the wake of a plethora of consumer complaints, eco-friendly statements will have to be supported by data. In the U.S., the Federal Trade Commission is reviewing its guidelines for environmental marketing (Green Guides). And the E.U. has adopted a substantial and diverse range of environmental measures aimed at improving...