The Next 100 Days: Bring on the Beef

During the last presidential race, Republicans issued a bumper sticker that read “All Sizzle, No Steak” next to a picture of Barack Obama. It was the bumper sticker that didn’t stick and today, Republicans are eating those words.

During his first 100 days in office, Obama has served up far more steak than Republicans are willing to digest.

A check of the Obama-Biden campaign platform shows the president has made progress on an impressive number of his pre-election promises on energy and climate, not the least of them an economic stimulus bill that provides the biggest green energy investment in the U.S. history.

Given the Bush Administration’s eight-year climate fast, we’ll need even more meat in the second 100 days and in many 100 days to come. In fact, stabilizing the climate and maintaining that stability is a standing commitment that every future president must make.

So, what’s on the president’s menu for the next 100 days?The honeymoon period – rudely cut short by the “Party of No” on Capitol Hill – traditionally lasts from Inauguration to Congress’s August recess. These are the months when a new president usually has best cooperation from the legislative branch, before the next congressional election begins fogging up the political climate in Washington.

But the party-poopers trying to spoil the honeymoon haven’t deterred the president so far. Here’s hoping he uses the next three months as impressively as the last, serving up lots more steak – and some sizzle, too. I’ll propose some steak here and some sizzle in Part 2.

Here are some recommendations drawn mainly from the Presidential Climate Action Plan (PCAP):

Improve federal energy management: Retrofitting federal buildings for greater energy efficiency – one of the goals of the stimulus bill – is a good first step for the world’s largest energy consumer, but it’s only the beginning.

President Obama should issue a new executive order to beef up the Federal Energy Management Program – for example, by creating the specific greenhouse gas reduction targets removed by the Bush Administration. A good place to start is the full menu of reforms developed for PCAP by the Alliance to Save Energy.

Make emissions visible: There’s a saying in the business world: “You can’t change what you don’t measure.” Likewise, it’s hard to pay attention to what we can’t see.

The president should take a series of steps to make greenhouse gas emissions more visible. Federal agencies should be required to include climate impact assessments in all relevant budget proposals.

The president’s annual budget submission to the Hill should include a climate impact estimate. His yearly state of the union address should report on the nation’s progress on emissions reductions and energy independence. He should recommend that Congress attach climate impact statements to its major legislation, including the national budget; if Congress doesn’t comply, Obama should direct the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to prepare impact statements before he signs the bills.

The administration should require that federally funded projects include an evaluation of climate impacts in their Environmental Impact Statements under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).