First of all, I must say how excited I am to see a visionary and someone of a visible minority elected as the President of the United States. Since I am married to an authentic Tex-Mex, my daughter is a dual citizen, and as a politician, I have been watching the campaign closely.

I have been thinking about how much hope Obama is able to bring to people around the world that politics can be different than we thought; power doesn’t have to corrupt absolutely; there is a possibility that we can have honest, open and thoughtful elected leaders. I first got involved in politics because I saw a need: for heartfelt community-minded politicians who engage people and show that we care about their communities and the world.

But, at the same point, I've been stewing about his environmental policies, because I've heard some opposition within the environmental community about his and Biden's ties to coal, and their concerns about reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

So, I did a little research on his website, http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/newenergy_more#emissions, and found some great commitments:

"Reduce our Greenhouse Gas Emissions 80 Percent by 2050

    * Implement an economy-wide cap-and-trade program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050.

      The Obama-Biden cap-and-trade policy will require all pollution credits to be auctioned, and proceeds will go to investments in a clean energy future, habitat protections, and rebates and other transition relief for families.

    * Make the U.S. a Leader on Climate Change.

      Obama and Biden will re-engage with the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) -- the main international forum dedicated to addressing the climate problem. They will also create a Global Energy Forum of the world’s largest emitters to focus exclusively on global energy and environmental issues."

When you look around the site at the other parts of his platform, you can see many great helpful programs, but honestly, I wonder how practical it will be for him to carry them out. An 80% reduction in GHGs is a major major reduction to pull off in a country that is such a current glutton for energy. If they pursue coal without a safe means of storing the carbon, their GHG emissions will rise, since 1kg of coal produces 1.8kg of CO2~more than other fossil fuels. Without a solid plan, if the US starts relying heavily on their supposed ‘clean coal’ technology, it could make the climate crisis worse.

Also, as a politician and someone who was involved in developing a provincial platform to address climate change, I know better than most how serious the targets and comprehensive programs must be to really address the climate crisis and provide the leadership our world needs to reduce our emissions.

For me, the jury will be out on the Obama-Biden’s shade of green until I can see a wide range of specific programs that will address climate change from a multi-prong approach: through grassroots social networking, initiatives for home owners, governments, businesses, corporations...everyone must be included and engaged at home, at work, in the media, on the street.

I am hoping that Barack Obama can inspire the world to turn around this planetary crisis, and say "Yes, we can solve climate change and restore this planet for future generations."