15 Ways President Obama Has Tackled Climate Change
See how Obama's policies support environmental health.
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Going Green - In honor of Earth Day on April 22, see how President Obama has forged a path for a healthy earth for us all. For a complete look at the Obama administration's progress, visit whitehouse.gov/energy. — Britt Middleton (Photo: Pete Souza/The White House via Getty Images)
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Reinvesting in Our Environment - The Obama administration invested nearly $11 billion of the Recovery Act into programs that protect the environment and support technological advances in science and health. (Photo: Michael Smith/Newsmakers)
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Protecting Our Oceans - The administration has established the first comprehensive National Policy for the Stewardship of the Ocean, our Coasts, and the Great Lakes. This policy helps address the most pressing issues facing oceans and coastal regions. Additionally, it supports millions of jobs and contributes trillions of dollars to the national economy each year. (Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
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Supporting Land Conservation - By signing the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009, the president designated more than 2 million acres of federal wilderness, protecting thousands of miles of trails and more than a thousand miles of rivers. Using his power of the Antiquities Act, Obama announced several new national historic sites in 2013, joining landmarks like Ft. Monroe in Hampton, Virginia, a haven for slaves during the Civil War. (Photo: Ben Bloker USAF / MAI /Landov)
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Clean Water Goals - In 2011, the Obama administration released a national Clean Water Framework to affirm partnerships with states, local communities and the public to improve water quality and efficiency, keeping communities thriving and its residents healthy. The administration has also created initiatives to revitalize communities and boost local economies by restoring rivers and critical watersheds. (Photo: Brian Hagiwara/Getty Images)
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Minimizing Environmental Impacts of Mountaintop Coal Mining - In 2009, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of the Interior and the Army Corps of Engineers signed a Memorandum of Understanding to minimize adverse environmental and health impacts of mountaintop coal mining. (Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
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Going Green…on Wheels - To keep the air we breathe clean, the Obama administration has proposed standards that will double the fuel efficiency of cars and light trucks by 2025, saving consumers an estimated $1.7 trillion at the pump and eliminating 6 billion metric tons of carbon pollution. (Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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Combating Toxic Air Pollution - The administration established the first national limits for mercury and other toxic air pollution from power plants, which will prevent up to 11,000 premature deaths, 4,700 heart attacks and 130,000 cases of childhood asthma symptoms each year, according to the White House. (Photo: Lucy Nicholson/REUTERS)
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Restoring Ecosystems - A number of programs have been introduced to restore and protect vulnerable ecosystems around the United States, including more than $150 million invested to improve water quality, conservation and protect wildlife habitats in the Gulf of Mexico. Click here to learn more. (Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images)
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Preserving Environmental Justice - The Environmental Justice Interagency Working Group ensures areas most vulnerable to pollution — specifically minority, low-income and indigenous communities — that are afforded the health and economic benefits of a clean environment in areas such as transportation, health services and housing. (Photo: Joe Sohm/VisionsofAmerica/Getty Images)
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Cutting Mercury Emissions Globally - The U.S. government has partnered with 140 other nations to negotiate a treaty to reduce toxic mercury emissions globally. The treaty is scheduled to be finalized in 2013. (Photo: Gary Wiepert/REUTERS/FILE /Landov)
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Climate and Clear Air Protection - In February 2012, the Obama administration launched the Climate and Clean Air Coalition to Reduce Short-Lived Climate Pollution aimed at cutting pollutants that are “short-lived” in the atmosphere, such as methane, black carbon, and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). Together, these pollutants make up one-third of toxins causing global warming today, according to the White House. (Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images)
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Investing in Clean Energy - The Obama administration has nearly doubled investments in renewable energy generation from wind, solar and geothermal sources since 2008. President Obama has also called on Congress to slash tax breaks for the oil and gas industry, potentially saving American taxpayers about $4 billion per year. (Photo: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
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Monitoring Emissions at the Federal Level - The president has called on the federal government to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions from direct sources such as building energy use and fuel consumption by 28 percent by 2020 and emissions from indirect sources, such as those from employee commuting, by 13 percent by 2020. (Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images)
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Supporting Sustainable Communities - The Obama administration created the Partnership for Sustainable Communities, which provided more than $1.7 billion in funding to support resilient economies, healthy environments and quality of life in more than 550 communities and regions across the country in 2011. (Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)