Obama's Environmental Victories

Barely halfway through his first 100 days in office, President Barack Obama worked with the Democrat-controlled Congress to redefine endangered species regulations, tighten mining rules and protect more than 2 million acres of public land.

The Obama environmental policy was a high priority, and he banked major early achievements in his first 100 days. To the media and the public, the Obama environmental policy has been justifiably overshadowed by economic news.

His massive stimulus bill will likely define his first 100 days, and possibly even his whole term. However, the Obama environmental policy is even entrenched in the economic stimulus package.

He has heavily pushed renewable energy. He argues solar, wind and other alternative energies will help clean the nation's air and water, among other benefits. But the Obama environmental policy is broader than weatherized federal buildings and subsidies for solar panels.

Encouraged by the Obama environmental policy, Congress passed a bill allowing President Obama to roll back the Bush Administration's 11^th hour revisions of endangered species rules. He said he plans to roll back the Bush changes.

Federal agencies such as the Department of Transportation must once again consult independent federal environmental experts before starting projects that could affect endangered species habitats.

The Obama environmental policy also acknowledges the threat of global warming, and the rule changes will remove a Bush policy that kept federal agencies from considering the effects on global warming of such projects.

A less publicized piece of the Obama environmental policy is a major shift on coal mining practices that involve lopping off mountaintops in Appalachia. Though the practice has long been a concern of environmental groups, it is not as prominent as offshore drilling or Alaskan refuge issues. However, towns and waterways are severely damaged by the practice of mountaintop removal coal mining.

In February, a federal court ruling upheld the Bush administration policies that allowed widespread mountaintop removal coal mining by subjecting them to only lax review by the Army Corps. Instead, the Obama environmental policy requires more stringent review by the Environmental Protection Agency for new mountaintop removal coal mining permits.

A third piece of the Obama environmental policy is possibly the most important and far-reaching. In late March, the House of Representatives passed the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009. The ugly name signifies the protection of more than 2 million acres of beautiful wilderness in nine states. The largest pieces of land are along the Pacific Coast and in the Rocky Mountain West.

The bill will prevent oil and gas drilling on much of the land, and makes earlier wilderness protection measures more permanent.

The bill will likely also pass the Senate and surely be signed by the president. The wilderness protections are a key piece of the Obama environmental policy.