Dec. 2010, and a Department of Energy loans program
in addition to its partnership with industry to accel-
erate the development of cleaner vehicles. In 2009,
President Obama issued an Executive Order requir-
ing federal agencies to evaluate their risks and vulner-
abilities related to climate change, and how they can
mitigate those risks to achieve their missions. In 2011,
the federal government published an interim rule re-
quiring federal agencies “to foster markets for sustain-
able technologies, materials, products and services” to
provide energy security and safeguard environmental
health (Federal Register 2011).
Arguably one of the most important new efforts is
the regulation of greenhouse gases, though there are
congressional attempts to end this initiative, either di-
rectly or through budget constraints. During the first
2011 budget crisis, which almost shut down govern-
ment, there were rumors about the likelihood of a
White House deal to sacrifice programs and authori-
ties of the Environmental Protection Agency, includ-
ing its new greenhouse gas controls. The next budget
battle will undoubtedly bring another foray to deny
funding for the greenhouse gas control program. De-
spite the awareness among defense and foreign affairs
experts that climate change poses serious threats to
U.S. security, chances for progress on an international
global warming initiative appear slim.
Two recent environmental calamities involving
energy industries illustrate the difficulty of promoting
sustainability concepts by addressing energy-related
environmental concerns in the United States. The ad-
ministration did not leverage the massive Gulf Oil
spill in summer 2010 to demand change to energy or
environmental policy. It wavered between environ-
mental concerns and economic growth, equated to
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