Originally posted at American Thinker. Blog
Remove the Schwinn from the garage wall and lace up the roller blades because Cadillac-riding, jet-setting, perpetually-vacationing Barack has handed down a decree to underling federal workers: “Cut down on business travel and commuting by car to reduce heat-trapping emissions produced by the federal government.”
Obama, who jetted into Hancock County-Bar Harbor Airport in Trenton, Maine followed closely behind by another jet carrying Bo the first dog and presidential aide Reggie Love, issued another diktat: “Ditch the automobile and jog to work.”
But then again in many ways Barry has been a stellar example. Obama assisted in curtailing “heat-trapping emissions…carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas… from indirect sources,” by closing down Maine’s Hancock County Airport. Grounding every plane except the two aircraft the Obama entourage arrived on cuts down on emissions and could be interpreted as an exemplary practice called: “Everybody but me.”
Anticipatory pollution was also minimized by having one Coast Guard helicopter awaiting the Obama family touchdown in Bar Harbor in lieu of four or five.
After arriving, Obama “traveled onto Mount Desert Island in a motorcade of at least 16 vehicles… led by two Maine State Police cruisers and … five black Chevrolet Suburbans.” How, you ask, do SUV’s help the environment? Barack Obama could have easily had a larger cavalcade of Suburbans; a stingy 16 equals lower emissions.
The Obama Maine vacation was more than a respite from the workaday pressures; it was also an opportunity to set an example for the lazy federal worker who shuns cycling. “Within 40 minutes of arriving on the island the first family went bicycling for more than an hour …in Acadia National Park.” The message: an hour’s bicycle trek to and from work saves the planet and contributes to the collective healthy physique Michelle envisions for every American.
The first family also provided a hiking/walking tutorial demonstrating that with the right pair of sneakers there is no excuse but to go the distance.
“Earlier this year Obama directed agencies to reduce pollution from direct sources, such as buildings and government fleets, by 28 percent in the next decade.” Does that include boating? If it does, the President may have dropped the ball for a bit by boarding a National Park Service boat for a water tour. Not to mention the “five smaller, faster Coast Guard boats as well as other crafts” accompanying the “president’s cruise around Bar Island and Sheep Porcupine Island.”
Next morning, after the fog “burned off, and the sky was bright blue,” Air Force One arrived in the form of a G3 Gulf Stream. Maybe Obama was unaware that Raymond L. Learsy, Scholar and author of “Over a Barrel: Breaking Oil’s Grip on Our Future,” believes a “Gulfstream G-II with two passengers traveling 1,000 miles consumes some 1,220 gallons of fuel and emits 12.8 tons of CO2 [while] a Prius traveling the same distance consumes approximately 25 gallons.” With that in mind, what is the reason federal workers can’t drive to work?
According to President Obama, “Employee travel and commuting account for the biggest category of what the White House calls indirect sources of pollution, so the main way to limit them will be encouraging employees to travel less for business and to use mass transit for their commutes.”
In a public statement, Obama maintained government is the biggest energy user. “The government has a responsibility to use that energy wisely, to reduce consumption [and] improve efficiency.”
Once again Obama demands responsibility, wise energy use, reduced consumption, and efficiency from everyone except hypocritical presidents busily enjoying bimonthly, environmentally-unfriendly family vacations.
