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After a long campaign, an exciting election night, and months of bated enthusiasm, the much-anticipated moment, when Barack Obama would move into the White House, finally came this week. Beginning the preceding weekend, crowds flooded into Washington, DC, reaching an estimated mass of as much as two million spectators on Inauguration Day. And, putting a few flubs aside, the event passed with amazing fluidity. Regardless of our political affinities, we can only hope that the smoothness of the occasion is a portent of the four years to come.
To the new administration, it seems as though the beginning of these four years could not come soon enough. Only hours after ceremonies ended, Barack Obama went to work. One of his first orders of business was to freeze the "midnight regulations" proposed in the last days of the Bush White House. These regulations had included a controversial rule that would allow the carrying of concealed weapons in some national parks and the removal of the grey wolf from the endangered species list.
Of course, bigger issues, like how America will deal with the global energy crisis and the proposal of a strategy for fighting climate change, have yet to be tackled. Still, environmentalists can take some heart in Barack Obama's inauguration speech, which placed more emphasis on energy and the environment than any other in history.
Perhaps the full green celebration should be postponed for another hundred days.
Get more of the latest environmental news on Focus Earth: January 24, 2008: Inauguration Wrap-Up and The Bear Whisperer.
Read more about green politics:
How to Write Your Elected Officials
How Can Obama Save the Planet? Read The 100 Day Action Plan E-book
