President Obama’s Green Revolution: Will It Save 1.8 Billion Gallons of Oil Imports?

The fight for the conservation of natural resources is as old as the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt. However the push for conservation and more environmentally friendly ways to work and live languished with further industrialization and the desire to make profits rather than consider the harm manufacturing has done to the United States environment and national security. However the opportunities offered by a major recession and the election of a democratic president and congress are making possible the fulfillment of the green movement in the United States.

With the Election of President Obama green advocates have in many ways found their dream president. The first major move the president made was to appoint Nobel Laureate Dr. Stephen Chu to the post of Secretary of State. The next major move was to reverse executive orders allowing for mining in national parks. Also President Obama dedicated a significant portion of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act to increasing the United States’ alternative energy resources and energy efficient buildings. The biggest move so far is a major bill that will set a national fuel efficiency standard of 35 miles per gallon. This is a huge step towards reducing green house gases. The energy savings will be equivalent to saving over 1.8 billion gallons of oil (Dept of Energy) more than the amount the U.S. imports from Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, and Venezuela combined.

President Obama has seen so much progress due to a strong election mandate and a unique approach that has brought former adversaries to the bargaining table. The President has also made the compelling argument linking the health of the U.S. economy to becoming more energy efficient and environmentally friendly. Also the president has emphasized the importance to national security of reducing the nation’s dependence on imported fuels. Though a president can only do so much in his terms of office, the Obama administration to lead the U.S. into a greener future.