- The Washington Times - Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Political watchers expect President Obama to go heavy on the climate change talk during his Tuesday evening State of the Union address. But they also predict he might take executive action — meaning the issuance of executive orders — and push his environmental agenda over the failure of a Congress that has, so far, refused to act.

Green groups, especially, are hoping Mr. Obama will harp on — and follow through on — his “we must act” climate change mantra that filled his inaugural address, The Hill reported.

“We are hoping to see some more substance on exactly what the president’s plan will be like,” said Nathan Willcox, global warming program director with Environment America, in The Hill report. “The sooner we have policy proposals in front of us, the better.”

The question is: Would the president take executive action on climate change, in much the same way he’s done on gun control?

He did just that in his first term, The Hill reports. And he does have the support of some members in Congress to do more of the same.

In The Hill: “From a planetary point of view, there is no issue more important than climate change, and the president has to be as bold and specific as he possibly can,” said Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont who has also called himself a socialist in various public venues.

Absent Congress, the president could expand Defense Department green energy programs, as well as bolster development of alternative energy on publicly owned lands, The Hill reports.

• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.

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