The article I used for my Op/Ed piece

Here is the link to the article I used for my op/ed piece: Advocates of Climate Bill Scale Down Their Goals

The New York Times reported on Jan. 26 that proponents of climate-change legislation are scaling back plans because of concerns about passing bills in the Senate. The catalyst of the fear stems from the election of Scott Brown, a Republican, to replace the late Ted Kennedy, a Democrat. The election of a Republican means that the Democrats no longer have a "super majority" in the Senate, and Republicans will be able to successfully use filibusters because Democrats don't have the votes to stop them.

The article reiterates President Obama's commitment to reducing carbon emissions by 17 percent less than 2005 levels by 2020, a pretty dramatic change from President Bush, who largely ignored the concern of global warming and denied California (and other states) a waiver to further reduce greenhouse gases associated with global warming. President Clinton, who set out to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, failed in the end to convince Congress to pass legislation for major reductions. Similar problems appear to be creeping up for Obama. Senator John Kerry all but says that cap-and-trade, a major piece of the legislation to reduce emissions, likely won't pass in 2010.

Overall, I agree with President Obama's stance on methods to reduce pollution and attempts to slow global warming. My concern is that legislation will get bogged down by amendments and pork, so it won't be as effective as it should be. Time will tell, but my suspicion is Obama will need to resort to executive orders, like Clinton and the second Bush, to make significant environmental policy changes.