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Finally, my plea for a change of attitude in regards to the environment has been acknowledged. 

Wednesday, Dec. 8th, 2021, President Joe Biden issued an executive order to change America’s terrible carbon emission habits. Biden has wanted to live up to his word about reducing how much fossil fuel citizens and the government are utilizing. Interestingly, the moves he has been trying to make have all been stopped at Congress. 

Instead of going through the lengthy process of Congress accepting the bills, he has sent out an executive order—an executive order allows for whatever the president desires to be enacted immediately. 

A sprinkle of relief for the Earth is (hopefully) soon to come. 

Well, the sprinkle was supposed to come earlier this year. Congress has yet to approve the $1.7 trillion spending budget for Biden’s goals which included cutting carbon emissions in half by the end of the current decade. 

Instead of playing the tedious waiting game with Congress, this executive order included a timeline of his environmental goals. 

By 2030, Biden wants the federal government to purchase electricity that isn’t reliable on carbon dioxide—an abundant gas that is hurting the diversity in ecosystems globally. Two years later, in 2032, building necessities such as heating and cooling should be cut in half. Right now, the carbon that the buildings produce contributes to 40% of the bigger problem—environmental disaster. 

The destruction of our environment is near, but the evolution of vehicles—trucks, cars, motorcycles, etc.—is catching up to help combat the harmful change. Car companies are manufacturing motorized vehicles that limit carbon emissions in the atmosphere. Hybrid and fully electric cars are not a new addition to the market, and with this new executive order, all federal cars and trucks purchased need to be fully carbon emission-free—not even a little bit of carbon should be emitted. 

Governments stretching all around the globe are the biggest problems that face the environment. Their loose regulations for citizens are all enrooted by privileges the federal governments are entitled to. 

Biden’s executive order was nonetheless a great start, but will this generation live to see the end product? 

There is a twenty-nine-year gap in time between now and 2050. The US will see different presidents in office from now to then, and the future US presidents have all the power to eradicate the executive order for many reasons. 

Purchases that use clean energy—anything but fossil fuels—will cost the US more in the short term. Technology to start the journey of “going green” has yet to be built and yes, it costs more money, but it’s better to take initiative now rather than later when the damage has even more of an impact. 

The executive order has faults and flaws. It is difficult to change the vehicles and defense weapons we have now for ones that are more of an eco-friendly alternative; it would cost millions upon millions of dollars to comply with the order. 

The vehicles that the US government and military own do not make a huge impact on the environment, and it cuts down carbon emissions only a little. The factories, buildings, and other federally established facilities, however, lessen the time we have left until irreversible damage. 

My environmental plea has been acknowledged, but is this new executive order empty words or a dedicated commitment?