I lived in a community that kicked off a campaign to stop teen drinking with a cocktail party. The teens saw the double standard. (HT Drudge) Mark Knoller hit the just the right tone in "Obama Earth Day Flights Burned More Than 9,000 Gallons Of Fuel," CBS NEWS, April 24, 2009.
It happens every time a president leaves town to make an Earth Day speech. Reporters scramble to point out how much fuel was expended so the President could talk about conserving energy and using alternative fuels.
President Obama could have saved at least 9,116 gallons of fuel by giving his speech at the White House – but no wind turbines are manufactured here.
President Obama called for a new era of energy exploration promoting his administration's plan to develop and promote renewable and alternative fuels. I wish the president would have delivered a different speech. Overlooking a national park, it would begin, Americans remain grateful to leaders like Theodore Roosevelt for preserving land as parks, creating a refuge for flora and fauna. As a nation, we have made great progress lowering pollution levels and providing the public goods of clean air and water. There is room for progress. In attempting to protect our forests from fire, we have allowed dense underbrush to accumulate, making fires when they occur larger and more dangerous. I am announcing a public program to clear our forests of the accumulated underbrush, restoring them to a more natural order. Once achieved, forest fires will be smaller and less dangerous. They will be allowed to burn unless endangering human life.
Our economy is built on the strength, creativity and efficiency of Americans working through markets. Problems of rising energy prices will largely be resolved in the private sector. The government will assist by funding basic research and the legal and institutional framework that recognizes that increases in our welfare have been and will be linked to increasing energy consumption, but no more.
Enjoy the beauty of the country that God has placed under our stewardship and be wise stewards so that future generations will enjoy an even cleaner and more beautiful environment.
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I wonder how much energy reporters used to charge the cameras that were shoved in the President's face while he was dilivering his speech. Or how many of them left their computer screens on while they took a break from writing their articles that critique Obama's carbon emissions. I agree that the government needs to step in with some greater funding towards new energy sources. We keep identifying the causes of global warming, but solutions never seem to arise from it.
ReplyDeleteThe integrity the President tried to show by giving this speech is almost canceled out by the fact that he wasted more than 9,000 gallons of gas just to give it. The irony of the situation is sad. I find it hard to be inspired by someone who can't follow their own advice.
ReplyDeleteBella
MHS
As much as I condemn the fact that President Obama went against everything he said before he gave his speech, I think we as a nation are missing a bigger picture. Yes, President Obama clearly had an alternative and less energy/fuel costing method for making his speech, but he isn't the only one making this blunder. Millions of Americans waste energy and fuels every day. I'm not afraid (although slightly ashamed) to say that I'm guilty of it. But we've made President Obama out to be the bad guy in all of this because his actions are the ones that truely matter. I think we are being slightly condescending and hypocritical here.
ReplyDeleteSarah K. G.
I think we just need to support and pray for our leaders instead of finding fault with them.......
ReplyDeleteThe reporters are worried about how much the President used, but how much did they used to get there? The reporters travel all around the world just to get a picture or a two minute story. Although I understande that we need to know what is happening outside of the United States and in different states. Therefore, maybe they need to be thinking of a way to reduced pollution and not just blame the president when they are doing to same thing. I believe Earth Day should be everyday not just one day out of the week. I agree with your speech and would not have been able to say it better myself. We need to think about the furture generations and set an example for them to follow to converse our Earth!
ReplyDeleteLisa Byram
Bruceville-Eddy!
It is a sad situation. Obama could have saved some energy by giving the speech at the White House, but the reporters spent alot of energy getting there to watch it and write their story. Let's face it, everyone including myself, wastes energy in many ways. Many people make many unnecessary trips, leave lights, tv, or computer on when they are not being used. To really make a difference it is going to take a collaborative effort between everybody to make a change instead of leaving the problem to future generations.
ReplyDeleteI think it's great that President Obama went to give a speech over promoting renewable and alternative fuels. But, on that same note, using over 9,000 gallons of fuel to make a speech, which could have been made at the white house, is ridiculous. There's always talk about how we waste energy, yet it's not just up to people with more power to conserve energy. Everyone has to put forth at least some effort to preserve the environment. It's probably always going to be a problem, so why not start doing things differently now and setting an example for present and future generations.
ReplyDelete-Double Dare
Personally, I don't think a speech honoring Earth Day should include anything about the economy.
ReplyDeleteBut I find the double standard amusing...butit does bother my conscience, too.
I am not the most earth friendly human, but it is completely ignorant to be running around "saving the planet" while at the same instant doing things that are destructive to the environment. President Obama certainly could have stayed at the white house for his Earth Day speech, changing locations for a speech of this kind has no impact on my feelings of what was said. If his agenda is to try and improve the environment by having a new era of conservation, he should first and foremost be a leading example. Of course, everyone can not be so careful as to always be doing the environmentally friendly action for every choice, but when all of America is watching your example, you should be more careful.
ReplyDeleteLauren Ragan (MCC)
If you want to give a speech on protecting the earth and stopping global warming then don't do something that enhances problem! Obama should have stayed at the white house to give the speech because it doesn't matter where the speech is given the only thing that matters is the speech itself and what it means. I believe that we need to come up with ways to save and protect our enviroment but you can't do that by also doing things that destroy it because that deletes the whole purpose. People need to take a step back and think about what they do before actually doing it.
ReplyDeleteAmber Hensley-Chilton
It's obvious that technological advances will aid in keeping our natural resources- Obama could have made his speech over webcam. I think the problem with American is that few people are willing to give up their big trucks and SUVs, even when you constantly notice that there is only one person in the truck. I think until alternative fuel options arrive, it will take a long time to convince people to leave the security of their gigantic cars. The demand for gas, especially in Texas where public transport is not popular, is extremely high. Adding a tax to gas will just make people poorer, and as far as I am concerned, a speech from the president is falling on deaf ears.
ReplyDeleteI dont think it was nessary to burn over 9,000 gallons of fuel. Thats fuel that we will probably need thats not there anymore. He should have just stayed in the White House to give his speech.
ReplyDeleteBernice Vessells from Chilton