Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Obama Scrubs White House Website of Climate Change Promises, Media Mum
  ObamaNation piece by Warner Todd Huston

Despite that President Obama made Cap and Trade and other green policy plans a focal point of his early days in office—not to mention his campaign for president—the White House has quietly scrubbed from its official website many of Obama’s promises and green initiatives. I guess the era of Obama really is “change you can believe in”?

Especially interesting it the sudden disappearance of Obama’s plan to commit $150 billion on clean energy research and development.

In 2008 as Obama was preparing to take office he featured on his “Office of the President Elect” website a pledge to spend $150 billion on energy R & D. As of today, that pledge is still there.

Invest in a clean energy economy and create 5 million new green jobs:  Obama and Biden will invest $150 billion over 10 years to advance the next generation of biofuels and fuel infrastructure, accelerate the commercialization of plug-in hybrids, promote development of commercial scale renewable energy, invest in low emissions coal plants, and begin transition to a new digital electricity grid. The plan will also invest in America’s highly-skilled manufacturing workforce and manufacturing centers to ensure that American workers have the skills and tools they need to pioneer the first wave of green technologies that will be in high demand throughout the world.

This policy was a major plank in his green initiatives plan and was featured on the White House website until July but just short of the two year point in his term this pledge has vanished from the White House website.

Also gone is any clear pledge to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions via his formerly touted cap and trade legislative efforts. For instance, the section once titled “Closing the Carbon Loophole and Cracking Down on Polluters” is now vanished down the memory hole.

The differences can be clearly seen on the website Versionista, a site that tracks changes in the White House website.

Interestingly enough there is another thing that is missing from the Internet: any mention in the Old Media of the White House scrubbing its enviro policies.

About all I can find on this story is a piece by Mark Tapscott, one on Politico, and one each from the advocacy groups American Energy Alliance and The Breakthrough Institute.

Shouldn’t the fact that the White House dropped some of its key environmental policies be pretty big news? Shouldn’t the changing of Obama’s “hope and change” be just enough to make the Old Media want to poke a finger in the President’s eye?

I guess the Old Media is too busy thrilling to Obama’s golf game to worry over much about his quiet policy changes.

Warner Todd Huston

Posted by Warner Todd Huston on 8/24/10

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