How Green is Obama?
Now that the collective Obamorgasm is over and he is finally inaugurated (can we bring this man down to earth now, pleeease???), will Obama be good on his environmental promises? Or were they just “heated campaign rhetoric” that can be forgotten now (as he so deftly says when he wants to flip-flop on campaign promise)?
Obama’s true environmental commitment, in my mind, is not really that deep. The evidence I have for this is his choice of house. The “mansion” that he chose to purchase in Chicago (shown above) is obviously not green or energy efficient…do you see any solar panels on the roof? I don’t. This is a large expensive house he was only able to afford through a shady deal with the skeezy felon Tony Rezko.
So here we have a guy who bought an extremely large house beyond his means for the purposes of…what? Showing the world how to live more simply? Looks pretty opulent to me for a city dwelling. Where is the voluntary simplicity in Obama’s choice of personal residence?
Now that Obama is in the White House, will he be using any part of his $100,000 redecorating allowance to put in solar panels? Apparently not.
Funny. The well-connected, successful environmentalists I know in Los Angeles actually put their money where their mouth is and green up their homes with solar panels and energy efficient washing machines. It’s really not that difficult if you have the money. So if someone with money doesn’t do that on their own, I have to think it’s not a huge priority for them.
Let’s hope that Obama’s public commitment is greater than his private one, and that he will be pushing through an environmental energy plan that will get us off of foreign oil. I would like to see green jobs in America.
But it’d be nice if Obama could go a bit further and practice what he preaches. In the midst of all the cheesy Obama propaganda videos being passed around with celebrities pledging to flush their toilets less, I’d like to see Obama himself showing us by his own example, in his own personal life. Let’s put solar panels on the White House. Let’s find alternative fuel for Air Force One. And how about an electric presidential limosine, not just one that can handle a flamethrower or a bomb thrown at it?
Time to show us what you’re really made of, Mr. Obama. Enough with the promises and the hype – it’s time to get down to business.
