President Obama tours Johnson Controls Inc. in Holland, Mich., Aug. 11
Michael Grunwald (Time): I know President Obama is supposed to be an awful disappointment to environmentalists because he doesn’t talk enough about climate change, just like he’s an awful disappointment to progressives because he doesn’t say enough nasty things about bankers. But people who actually care about what Presidents do, as opposed to how they talk, might be interested in Obama’s trip to Michigan on Thursday. He’s visiting a factory that builds batteries for electric vehicles, a factory that exists for three reasons:
1. Because Obama saved the U.S. auto industry.
2. Because Obama has ratcheted up fuel-efficiency standards, boosting demand for green vehicles.
3. Because Obama created a U.S. advanced battery industry from scratch.
…. the Johnson Controls lithium-ion battery factory that Obama is visiting was financed by his 2009 stimulus bill …. that included an unprecedented $90 billion for clean-energy investments …. The most radical investment was probably a $2.4 billion grant program that helped finance 30 factories building advanced batteries and components, including $300 million for Johnson Controls, which had to match the government dollars with private dollars.
Before 2009, the U.S. was supplying less than 2% of a tiny global market in advanced batteries. When the stimulus-funded factories are all complete, they’ll have the capacity to supply 40% of a rapidly growing global market, about 500,000 batteries a year.
The stimulus will also boost our supply of electric-vehicle charging stations by more than 3,000%. And the Obama administration has provided loans to help Tesla, Fisker and Nissan build electric-car factories in the U.S., all part of Obama’s pledge to put 1 million plug-ins on the road by 2015.
That is what change looks like, even if the President doesn’t beat his chest and call for mass beheadings on Wall Street while it happens.
… the liberals who keep whining that Obama isn’t telling them what they want to hear ought to open their eyes and look at what he’s trying to do. Whining enviros should be especially grateful to Obama …. those standards represent the biggest step the country has ever taken to reduce our dependence on foreign oil … the biggest step the country has ever taken to reduce our carbon emissions.
….. would you rather have a President who talks about climate change, or a President who does something about it?
Full article here
White House.gov