There is no doubt that clean energy sources increased significantly in President Obama's first term in office. Here are some of the highlights:
- Boosted fuel standards for cars and trucks that is expected to reduce climate-warming pollution (like CO2) by 6 billion metric tons.
- Wind energy production has doubled in the last 4 years.
- Solar installations have increased 6-fold in the last 4 years.
- In 2007 the Supreme Court ruled that carbon emissions are indeed a pollutant as defined by the Clean Air Act.
However, despite the advances in clean energy right now in the US "Energy Independence" is still code for more mining and more drilling but it doesn't need to be so in the future. Energy independence needs to become more interrelated to weaning ourselves off of fossil fuels with renewable energy. Subsidies for renewable energy are being reduced and in some cases coming to an end.
On the other hand, oil subsidies remain stronger than ever even after decades of exponential industry growth and multiple economic downturns and hardly come into to question. Moreover with all of the big craze around natural gas in the US, many are forgetting that methane that escapes from drilling and pumping natural gas is 70 times more harmful than CO2 emissions.
In fact the head of the Environmental Defense Fund, Fred Krupp says that "Fugitive gas is the biggest unknown of all the US emissions sources."
On the other hand, oil subsidies remain stronger than ever even after decades of exponential industry growth and multiple economic downturns and hardly come into to question. Moreover with all of the big craze around natural gas in the US, many are forgetting that methane that escapes from drilling and pumping natural gas is 70 times more harmful than CO2 emissions.
In fact the head of the Environmental Defense Fund, Fred Krupp says that "Fugitive gas is the biggest unknown of all the US emissions sources."
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