The United States - Comparing Environmental Policies in 16 Countries - page 49

Obama canceled two major sets of air regulations at the last minute.
In September 2011 he told the EPA Administrator to withdraw regulations
limiting ozone within hours after they were promulgated. In December
regulations on emissions of mercury and toxics were blocked by the White
House. The president seemed to want to avoid criticism from Republicans
that he was harming the economy in the coming election year.
The 2012 election between Obama and the Republican Mitt Romney
largely ignored the environment. The particular issue that did not appear
was global warming. Romney spent much of the primary season trying to
make the topic disappear, and he was largely successful. Although in pre-
vious years he had stated that he believed in warming as a threat, he soon
learned that that was going to cost him votes. Most Republicans who voted
in primaries and caucuses denied that it existed; therefore, Romney denied
it. Democrats considered this was just one more example of changing his
beliefs to pander to voters. Obama, for his part, also avoided mentioning
warming in spite of many environmentalists who demanded that he take a
stand. Obama wanted to avoid agitating voters. Suddenly on election night
in his victory speech in Chicago he said “We want our children to live in
an America that isn't threatened . . . by the destructive power of a warming
planet.” 7 The line drew sustained applause from the crowd and praise from
environmentalists in general. Nevertheless, the steps to take were uncer-
tain in view of the hostility of the Republicans who again held a majority
in the House of Representatives. One option was to use executive action
that did not require new legislation. The Clean Air Act authorized EPA to
promulgate regulations, and presumably these could limit greenhouse gas
emissions. The previous year EPA had issued CAA regulations to double
fuel efficiency for cars and trucks by 2025.
The environment intruded into the campaign peripherally. In October
Hurricane Sandy struck New Jersey and New York, raising the specter
that global warming was a cause. Costs were estimated at $75 billion
with 285 deaths. Often the campaign questions were framed in terms of
energy. The Republicans solicited the votes of coal miners in the swing
state of Ohio, in which the outcome was narrowly divided. In the televised
debates, Romney accused Obama of discouraging drilling for oil. Both
candidates advocated “energy independence,” meaning more specifically
oil import independence for North America. The supposed benefits were
reduced vulnerability from the unstable Middle East and Venezuela and
reduced costs. During the fall, Republicans blamed Obama for blocking
construction of the Keystone XL pipeline from the tar sands of Canada