Energy
^Obama’s Clean energy programs have caused US wind power generation be 20% higher in 2012 than the forecasted generation for 2030. It also resulted in a 100% increase in solar panel installations per year.
^funding for oil speculation/more investigations/more regulations in April 2012 helps oil prices fall by 21%
^Rejected XL pipeline which would of increase gas prices in the Midwest by as much as .30$ per gallon
^Mandated that all government buildings reduce energy use by 30% by 2015
^2011 used 4 billion in energy savings to further improve energy efficiency for federal/private buildings will save 4 billion dollars yearly
^Loan Guarantees have created/saved 40,000 jobs
^More than 7 million homes have fitted with solar panels
^Added trucks and other transportation vehicles to be subject to MGP standards.
^Increased car and trucks fuel economy standards to 55 MPG by 2025 which will save consumers 1.7 trillion dollars.
^Increase fines for drilling and safety violations by 15%-20%
^Obama’s energy secretary has released 30 million barrels from the strategic reserve in order to lower inflated oil prices caused by unrest in oil producing countries. Empirical evidence from the early 90’s showed that releasing 30 million barrels caused oil costs to decrease by 1/3 or by $11 per barrel. The day of announcing this plan oil prices dropped 5%.
^Increased energy research by 125% once, and 5% a year
^A 10% tax cut for homeowners whom increase the energy efficiency of their home, and deductibles for energy efficient appliances.
^Cut solar panel, fuel cell, and wind turbine taxes by 30%
^Cut geothermal, micro turbines and CHP’s taxes by 20%
^New Federal government energy efficiency such as retrofitting residential buildings and a manufacturing grant created/will create over 600,000 thousand jobs over a 2 year period.
----1) BBI (better building initiative) would/will create 115,000 jobs and save 40 billion a year
----2) The Home star (cash for claunkers) program would/will create over 160,000 jobs over a two year period and save consumers .735 billion dollars a year, sand increased GDP by 120 billion, and lowered CO2 emissions by 850,ooo tons
----3) The Building star program which offers businesses rebate for energy improvements would/will create 190,000 jobs over a two year period and save consumers lots of money.
^Obamas DOI began collection 10 billion in unpaid fees from oil/coal companies.
^Obama’s DOE has mandated certain consumer items be more efficient saving the nation a net of 275 billion dollars over a period of 20 years (this will exponentially increase as time goes on).
^Obama increased the amount of energy; energy companies get from clean sources to 80% by 2035.
^Required all government vehicles to use clean energy by 2015; and he required that all cars/trucks have MPG standards up to 35 miles per gallon saving 61 billion and creating 250,00 jobs a year starting in 2020.
^Required government buildings to adopt the most energy efficient and water efficient standards. If these standards were applied to all buildings it would save the country a net of 20 billion a year.
^Required power plants to produce 15% of their energy from renewable sources.
^Stimulus grants for the DOE will create 170,000 jobs over two years by increase energy efficiency.
^Provided a 1,500 energy tax cut for goods that increase in energy efficiency,
^7 billion for increase energy efficiency at government buildings
^4.3 billion tax cut for increasing homes energy efficiency
^13 billion for renewable energy production a year for five years
^DOE extended battery efficiency saving consumers 0.16 dollars – 40 dollars on all types of batteries.
^Provided tens of billions in funding for energy efficiency programs.
^Increased light bulb energy standards saving consumer more than 12 billion a year.
^Began EPA regulations of greenhouse gasses
^Required states to provide people and companies with incentives for reducing energy consumption, and increasing energy efficiency
^Created fuel efficiency standards for tractors and other large vehicles saving at least 2.2billion a year by 2014
^Used the Military to construct enough renewable energy production to power .25million homes in 2012 alone
^Made it legal for states to have fuel economy standards higher than that of the federal govt
^Required states to provide utilities incentives to reduce energy consumption
---------------------Energy
-----------------------------Environment
^Lowered gasoline to have 60% less sulfur and 80% less nitrogen oxide saving 23bn a year by 2030 and creating 30,000 jobs within 3 years.
^Cut the time required for states to wait before issuing swimming advisories; and included water E. coli standards that only infect 32-36 out of every 1,000 people.
^EPA will set stricter water pollution standards; that reduce nitrate, phosphate and other chemical concentrations that cost Florida alone over 10bn a year.
^Lowered the amount of 4 cancer causing chemicals in drinking water.
^Required fracking companies to disclose the chemicals they dump into the environmental, water and in the ground
^Signed an executive order to put in place oversight on natural gas fracking
^EPA regulations to reduce hydraulic fracking pollution emissions by 95% (minus methane) methane emissions would be reduced by 40%
^New power production cannot have Carbon emissions over 1,000 pounds per megawatt.
^Coal ash pollution reductions to save 30,000 lives a year
^Rejected XL pipeline
^Removed loophole that prevented environmental review of drilling in the rocky moutains
^Reversed Bush era decision that prevented states from enacting tougher environmental laws.
^Required companies to get permits in order to increase CO2, CH4, N2O, HFC, PFC, and SF^’s pollution
^New EPA boiler safety standards to save 6,500 lives and several hundred million dollars yearly
^Reduced smog pollution by 18% saving almost 100 billion per year by 2020
^EPA created a site that allows you to view who is polluting your air water etc.
^Required cement kilns to reduce their mercury and other toxic pollution which will save 2,500 lives yearly and created 19 dollars in benefits for every 1 dollar in costs.
^Banned Uranium mining in the Grand Canyon
^Blocked Keystone XL pipeline
^EPA Daily load regulations so far have created 40 thousand jobs
^New EPA regulations that limit Mercury and SO2 emissions will save 17,000 lives a year and create 140 billion in economic benefits creating 1.4 million jobs in the next 5 years.
----2) The Home star (cash for claunkers) program would/will create over 160,000 jobs over a two year period and save consumers .735 billion dollars a year, and increased GDP by 120 billion, and lowered CO2 emissions by 850,000 tons
^New EPA rules under Obama will provide a 4-1 to 22-1 benefit cost ratio and will create 1.5 million jobs over the course of 5 years.
^Fines for breaking environment rules such as dumping chemicals into drinking water increased by 10%
^Obama expanded EPA’s criminal investigators field, and increased environmental enforcement by 19 times the previous amount. EPA also is now requiring oil storage locations to implement prevention control measures.
^Obama’s EPA set new health/environmental rules that will save the country a net of over 120 billion a year. Such as limiting Benzene content, mercury emissions and hydrocarbon emissions.
^Increased the amount of rivers protected from pollution and development by 50%, and established new national forest/trails/parks equaling two million acres.
^Canceled and revoked permit of some coal companion’s mountaintop removal mining; creates 5 times the cost in health/environment damage then the benefits created.
^EPA now provide permits to NPDES in order to reduce waste overflow
^epa tightened soot standards by 20% saving $30 to $86 in benefits for every dollar invested in pollution control and save 8,000 lives a year
^EPA Sulfur Dioxide standards set in 2010 set to save at least 9bn a year and at most 50bn.
----------------------------Environment
--------------------------Discrimination
^Expanded minimum wage and other labor protections to direct care workers (2million people)
^Gay married couples now get same IRS treatment has straights, and gays now get same nursing home coverage and benefits as straights
^Reduced drug sentencing disparity between crack and cocain resulting in 16k less prission years and 500mn dollars saved in 2 years.
^allows U.S. servicemembers to wear their uniforms at gay pride marchs
^made it so children of same sex couples can also be on their parents health plan
^Made it so transgender people are protected from employment discrimination
^Paid Native Americans 1 billion dollars for past discrimination done by the government
^Made it so gay couples can visit each other in the hospital and decided the fate of their spouse.
^Expanded the legal definition of rape to include anal and oral sex and those done on men men
^Secretary Hillary Clinton will direct foreign aid funds to countries that do not abuse human rights and divert aid away from human right abusing countries.