The Obama drama: welcome back, USA

Posted by bex — 6 November 2008 at 5:09pm - Comments

I've noticed a higher-than-expected amount of traffic going to our Obama press statement over the past couple of days, so it looks like people are interested in what we make of Obama's victory.

I think this image, on the homepage of the Greenpeace USA website, says it all:

Obama wins!

We're firmly non partisan at Greenpeace, but I think it's fair to say that the organisation is breathing a collective sigh of relief that the morally and scientifically illiterate Bush administration is nearing its end - and we'd echo the real sense of hope for the future that so many others are feeling with the election of Obama.

Brian sums it up in his Memo to Obama on our international blog:

We're non-partisan here at Greenpeace. We don't have any permanent allies or enemies. We support policies, not politicians. We endorse deeds, not words. So even while a lot of us (in our personal capacity as human beings and not Greenpeace employees) are jumping up and down this morning with glee, we want to take a moment to remind you of the promises you made in your election campaign.

It's delivering on these promises, or bettering them, that will be the true mark of your leadership.

...

When the oil company sharks and the coal industry crooks and the nuclear energy shisters begin to gather at your door, please remember what you promised us in this election. Please remember the reasons you gave us to hope:

You've promised us 80 percent reductions in global warming pollution by 2050.
(Obama-Biden New Energy for America Plan)

You promised to use executive action to regulate global warming pollution, if necessary. (Bloomberg News, October 16)

You promised to re-engage with the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC)—the main international forum dedicated to addressing the climate problem.” (Obama-Biden New Energy for American plan)

You committed to attend or send a personal representative to the next UN climate talks in Poland this December. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_TD4OL-15U)

You committed to helping create five million new green jobs by investing $150 billion in clean energy over the next ten years, requiring that we get 10 percent of our electricity from clean sources by 2012, and putting at least a million ultra-efficient plug-in hybrid vehicles on the road. (Obama-Biden New Energy for America Plan)

Here's to hope.

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