Good week to fire up the discussion around climate change

The President is clearly stepping up the move towards much higher clean air standards.  Will Congress follow?  Certainly, those parts of the world already taking drastic action to reduce carbon emissions and slow global warming will welcome US action.  Others will see it as a new hit to the already fragile global economy.

Let us know what you decide:

The link:  http://nbcpolitics.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/06/25/19119744-obama-aims-to-sidestep-congress-with-new-initiatives-to-reduce-carbon-emissions?lite

Part of the story:

Obama aims to sidestep Congress with new initiatives to reduce carbon emissions

By Michael O'Brien, Political Reporter, NBC News 

President Barack Obama will direct his administration on Tuesday to begin addressing the issue of climate change with executive branch actions, sidestepping a Congress that has displayed little appetite for addressing the issue.  

Among a range of initiatives aimed at cutting carbon emissions both at home and internationally, the president will announce a directive for the Environmental Protection Agency to establish carbon emission standards for both new and existing power plants.

The speech he will deliver at Georgetown University is being billed as a major policy address by the White House on one of the top priorities of his second term. And the administration made it clear they are more than willing to do what they can to bypass Congress. 

“I think, going back to the president’s words in the State of the Union, he made it very clear that his preference would be for Congress to act, and move comprehensive energy and climate legislation forward,” a senior administration official said in a conference call previewing the speech, explaining that Obama’s actions rely on existing executive authority. “At this point, the president is prepared to act...”