President Obama mentioned recently that he is preparing to tell all federal agencies for the first time that they should consider the impact on climate change before approving major projects, from pipelines to highways. It should have. I highly doubt he will implement his plan via a bill that congress must approve. He is much more like to do it through an executive order.
Stanley Kurtz at National Review Online tells about Obama’s next steps toward stacking you and packing you in high density urban centers (Agenda 21).
Last Friday’s headlines focused on President Obama’s address at Argonne National Laboratory, where he proposed to spend $2 billion on an energy-security trust fund for renewable fuel research. Obama boldly pledged “to shift our cars entirely . . . off oil.”
…on the day of Obama’s Argonne speech, the Department of Energy released a series of coordinated reportscalled “Transportation Energy Futures” (developed in cooperation with Argonne). This DOE project explores a variety of strategies designed to curb America’s greenhouse gas emissions up to 80 percent by about 2050.
I don’t know about you, but I didn’t hear about these DOE reports. I guess the MSM didn’t think they were very important. So, what is the DOE up to? Kurtz explains:
Arguably the most controversial of those reports covers the “effects of the built environment on transportation.” To put it plainly, the “built environment” report lays out strategies the federal government can use to force development away from suburbs and into cities, supposedly for the sake of reducing carbon dioxide emissions given off by all those suburban commuters. The Obama administration wants to force so-called smart growth policies on the country: get out of your car, stay out of the suburbs, move into small, tightly-packed urban apartment complexes, and walk or take public transportation instead of driving. (Bold added)
You can see what is coming, can’t you? The only projects that will get approval will be those in the cities. A developer wants to build a new subdivision in a suburb will find the permits denied or delayed indefinitely while the impact on climate change is reviewed and reviewed again. Need to add roads or schools to a suburb? Sorry! It would produce too much green house gases. The idea will be to make too expensive to live in the suburbs.
And, of course, there are all those federal grants that local politicians can’t turn down.
Kurtz has some thoughts on how to fight back:
How can these changes be fought? Publicity helps. Controversial policies like “smart growth” often operate under the public’s radar. Obama wants the energy debate to focus on benign-sounding research plans, while his administration’s interest in placing the massive power of federal funding behind urban densification strategies goes unnoticed.
The other way to block Obama’s plans is to have Congress cut funding for the Sustainable Communities Initiative. In particular, future funding for the Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grant program ought to be eliminated. Although the cost of these planning grants is small, their potential impact is large, especially if the administration follows through with the built environment report’s option of conditioning a wide range of federal aid on local adherence to so-called smart-growth planning. (I described these troubling “sustainability” grants in “Obama’s Plan for Ohio.”)
Yours truly is not very optimistic that the House Republicans will use their power over the purse. All indications are that once again there will be no budget passed on the 27th of this month. That means there will be another Continuing Resolution passed to fund the government through September. The House Republicans could include no funding for “climate change reviews”. They could eliminate funds for those pesky government grants. They could cut funding for the DOE programs. And, of course, the Democrats could say no and shut down the government and blame it on the Republicans, in which case, the Republicans will fold in a heart beat.
So, the ultimate in central planning, Agenda 21, marches on.
Well, that’s what I’m thinking. What are your thoughts?
No surprise, but he sure is bearing down. If he thinks he won’t get the House in2014, look out, Katie bar the door.
The man really hates America.
Of course the Democrats would love us to all live in cities. Cites vote Democratic after all. And yes, the Republican congress is useless.
The Democrats are doing what they believe in. What are the Republicans doing? What do they believe in? Pffft!
Reblogged this on News You May Have Missed and commented:
Obama Puts Agenda 21 On Steroids
Thank you. We have got to get the word out.
Reblogged this on AMERICAN BLOGGER: GUNNY.G ~ WEBLOG.EMAIL and commented:
GyG ReBlog !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Give’m hell, Gunny!
It would be curious to see how such policies will play out with his core constituencies. Around here, the upper middle class prefers low density semi-urban towns (like Berkeley, for instance), and people are already finding out that their cities are being built up by mandates that originate from the state. There are discussions about that and the increase in traffic in local papers, believe it or not. My guess is that they are not following the money all the way, because it’s probably a federal policy.
Anyhow, I can see discontent brewing.
I hope you are right about the discontent, Edge. We need people to get fighting mad!
Not enough Americans are mad enough.
I’m not sure IF Americans can ever get mad enough anymore.
They don’t knoe enough to get mad, AOW. And, if you try to explain it, they won’t believe you. Frustrating!
Oh, see here:
http://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/how-an-environmental-law-is-harming-the-environment/Content?oid=3487489
Interesting. Sadly, the “smart growth” will probably geet shoved down their throats whether they like it or not.
I’d not seen the “Transportation Energy Futures Project” before either. Though undated, it was just put up last week. It speaks to the topic of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the transportation sector which is the goal of the $2B (over 10 years) Energy Security Trust Obama requested last Friday.
President O, since day one, has been bent on saving the planet from global warming. He swallowed that theory hook-line-and-sinker and will not change. His entire energy policy is predicated on it.
The good news is that science is catching up with the IPCC and AGW alarmism. In 5-10 years AGW fanaticism will fade away as temperatures either remain unchanged or go down with the upcoming down-cycle of solar activity.
As far as I can tell it is a framework; nothing more at this point.
If we are lucky it will get only as much attention as Obama’s comprehensive energy blueprint from two years ago has got so far. Post Obama, common sense and sensible energy policy will return.
Hopefully, that will happen before to much economic damage is done.
Only 46 months remain until common sense has a shot of becoming common again.
Common sense? I think that is now conditioned out of young people in K-12.
I wish the science would catch up with Obama and the EPA and DOE.
AZ…Not so…”As far as I can tell it is a framework; nothing more at this point.” This “framework” is already being implemented and has been coming at us for the last 4 yrs. My area is covered up with it…and the tyranny of it is abominable. The local unelected Council of Government took the SCI – HUD money and has now hired contractors to do thermal imaging in “selected” neighborhoods to see whose homes are emitting greenhouse gases. They have hired contractors to inspect and assess private vehicle fleets in order to force them to retrofit and or replace diesel engines. They have “coded” 1.2 parcels of privately held land and are intending to collect data on all vehicles, land use, water use, energy use, and…also “educate” the public and students as to the brilliance of their plans.
You may think this is just some “framework” to ignore….but it is entrenched in every major core city and surrounds in the nation. Go looking and you will find it. Take a look at your city Comprehensive Plan. Take a look at the Council of Governments in your area. Take a look at your State agencies. Just saying….ignore this at our peril. It MUST be stopped.
Reblogged this on That Mr. G Guy's Blog and commented:
Find out if your community is on the “Smart Growth” bandwagon.
Thanks for spreading the word, Mike.
I wrote about Obama’s order the other day but I didn’t link it to Agenda 21, but I have to feel as though you are right about that.
That’s the way I see it, Steve. Smart growth Sustainiable communities is all about stacking and packing Americans in cities where they can walk to work or ride a bike.
Recently, FreeThinke made THIS COMMENT, which relates to Agenda 21 too:
What is scary is is that it will happen so gradually the “unawares” will never realize that it was ever any other way.
Jim…copying your post to my elected officials and my Tea Party group here. Hoping they will listen to you and Stanley Kurtz. …I have tried and tried …4 op-eds in the paper, telling everyone I know, pleading with my elected officials. Thank you for this post. Maybe they will listen to you from afar!!