Educate Nic: Politics and Power

Now, typically I avoid politics as a topic unless I am writing for an overtly political publication. I don’t discuss individual politicians, candidates or policies and I’m not going to start now. I am, however, interested in the structure of our government and the influence its members have on the various policies that effect the things we care about. For this particular blog, I am curious as to what sort of power our elected politicians and their appointees have over environmental policy, particularly in terms of green building and conservation incentives.

So, my question is this:

How important is the environmental stance of the future president and why? How much power does the future president have to effect the course of our environmental destiny and is this power granted by law, tradition or some other, less concrete type of influence?

Please avoid a discussion of particular candidates for public office and try to stick to a simple discussion of the position itself. I know many people have strong feelings on candidates, but I can hear about those anywhere (whether I want to or not). I am more curious in your thoughts about the structure of the government and its effect on environmental concerns.

As with all editions of Educate Nic, I could have found more information on my own with a little research but I am lazy more interested in your thoughts on the issue. So, let me know what you think in the comments.