The Greenest Presidents? Surprise, They’re Republicans
By Steve Casimiro on November 6th, 2012
With an asterisk. You have to go back to Nixon to find the last environmental Republican who scored well among a survey of green groups. But don’t mock Nixon: He established both the Clean Air and Clean Water acts as the Environmental Protection Agency — all laws and departments attacked by present-day Republicans as needless red tape. Teddy Roosevelt gets the most credit for pushing the environmental movement forward, but even Abe Lincoln, who gave Yosemite to the state of California but made it mandatory that it be preserved for recreation (it later became America’s first national park) gets props. And the Dems? Jimmy Carter, of course, is lauded for his first attack on America’s dependence on fossil fuels. Also getting props: Obama, for raising fuel efficiency standards and constantly talking up alternative energy. Via Scientific American.
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Tags: Green
Yellowstone was Americas first national park… http://www.nps.gov/yell
I want to start out saying that I voted for Obama and that I believe he is clearly the better choice to run our nation. However, to give him “props” for his environmental initiative is an inaccurate statement. He wants to drill more, exploit us land and look towards fracking. These are not reasonable movements towards a sustainable planet. The issue with the environment, our country and the world is that the USA consumes too much. We consume more resources than any other country. We have the biggest carbon footprint of any country. We should not be satisfied that he has given more demanding fuel emission standards. This just gives us the mindset that we can drive longer resulting in the same amount of pollution. We should not accept that bandaids are being put on cut arteries. We should accept that the ski industry especially should fight for the destruction of our planet because all our consumption leads to greenhouse gas emissions which are well over 350 and these gasses are a direct effect on lack of snow, rising global temperature and a threat to the ski industry and backcountry.com specifically.
Yellowstone was the first National Park in 1872. Yosemite may have set the groundwork for the creation of the system but was not designated a NP until 1890.
TR definitely doesn’t count as a Republican in the current sense of the word.
Comparing old school Republicans to the “new” Republicans is like comparing tea and bags.
Yellowstone was the first national park. Not Yosemite.