WaPo's editorial board joins the push on Obama

Hearing that President Obama should "lead on climate now" is far from unusual within the environmental community. We at 1Sky have our petition for the President to "step up on climate" and other environmental groups have blog posts, petitions, or other campaign statements saying generally the same thing. It's a different story when one of the most-read newspapers in the country, if not the world, expresses that kind of urgency.

The Washington Post editorial board published an editorial this morning lamenting that "the United States is the only developed country that has yet to announce a carbon target." They point out that developing countries like Brazil and China have already made such statements. This is the same editorial board that has expressed serious doubts that the U.S. Senate could design a working cap and trade system this year. Nevertheless, they know that the President needs to show leadership on climate change now.

The Post points out that Obama is waiting for the Senate to pass a climate bill, but that he chose to put the Democratic-controlled Congress' focus on health care with the UN Climate Conference already scheduled for December. Health care reform is no doubt important, but work towards that should not prevent the administration from providing some range of emission reduction targets to bring to Copenhagen.

Read the article here and then add your comments regarding what Obama should do.

Image courtesy of Flickr user biblicone