To believe, or not to believe? That is the question of many on the far left and the fringes of the environmental movement. We cannot simply hope that Obama follows through with his promises, we must act to guarantee that he does.
Nothing represents this dichotomy more than the mixed feelings I have about the election of Barack Obama.
I walk a fine line between radical and liberal—between wanting to smash a failed system and fix a broken one. I consider myself an anarchist, yet I proudly voted. And I voted for Green Party candidate Cynthia McKinney, yet I fought back tears of joy as I witnessed Obama give his acceptance speech in person in Grant Park.
Obama has great potential to be the most liberal, open-minded president of the last century. Dare I say, he could be a catalyst for change.
What does this mean for those of us who view species extinction and global climate catastrophe as more than just back-burner issues? This represents an opportunity that the environmental movement has never seen, and we would be foolish to pass it up. So here are four steps to help ensure that Obama keeps his many bold promises to us.
It was often highlighted after the infamous tragedies of September 11th that terrorism was hardly discussed or barely even mentioned during the campaigning that led up to the 2000 election (Al vs. W). Searching for a way the horrible acts could have been avoided led to a lot of finger pointing and mudslinging on both sides (that I won’t get into again here).
I bring this up only because I see a similar looming issue (crisis in some areas of the US) that is not being givien the attention that I am confident it deserves. An issue that I see us looking back on–as we did terrorism–and thinking: “How could this have been prevented?” or “Look at the campaign of ‘08. The two candidates hardly mentioned water pollution and conservation issues.”
The two most notable offerings were answers to specific questions–one from Science Debate 2008 and one from DISCOVER.
When asked by DISCOVER contributor Thomas Kostigen,
Ensuring an adequate water supply is a huge issue, arguably a bigger challenge than energy. Recent estimates say we are going to have to increase our supply of freshwater by 20 percent in the next 20 years to meet world demand. Two-thirds of the world’s population will experience water shortages by 2025. Meanwhile, the Clean Water Act hasn’t been updated since 1972. What plans do you have for addressing the freshwater issue?
San Francisco’s Prop H is taking on their biggest opponent today - PG&E! The utility company has spent more than $9.9 Million to prevent San Francisco from having cheaper and renewable energy.
Come join the rally at: PG&E’s downtown headquarters at 77 Beale St at noon.
They’ll be erecting three twelve-foot “Yes on H” wind turbines and showing support for green jobs and an affordable green energy future. They’ll have signs ready for you to carry if you want to protest!
In a last minute effort to alter the endangered species rules before Bush leaves office, officials are speed-reading 200,000 public comments. If the Administration goes through with their plan, they will implement the biggest changes to the rules since 1986.
The Fish and Wildlife Service has called 15 people to Washington this week to speed read 200,000 comments in 32 hours. The public comments are regarding a proposal by the interior department to exclude greenhouse gases and the advice of federal biologists from decisions about whether dams and power plants could harm species.
Dale Hall, Fish and Wildlife Service Director, told the Associated Press on Tuesday that the short time frame for processing the comments was requested by Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne and, indeed would set a record. Usually the review process takes months. Read the rest of this entry »
President Bush is concentrating more on conservation issues in his last days of office. A few weeks ago he urged for the creation of more protected areas in our oceans. Now he wants to help mountain bikers gain access to national parks.
Perhaps smarting over a judge’s recent decision to scratch the Bush administration’s plan to allow snowmobiles in Yellowstone National Park, now Bush has said, “Damn it! If I can’t snowmobile in Yellowstone, at least I want to go mountain biking!” Read the rest of this entry »
Others have been saying it for a while now, but former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev has put it most eloquently: there’s no fixing the economic crisis without also taking into account our environmental crises.
“This financial turmoil, which will heavily affect the real economy, was absolutely predictable, and it is only one aspect of the wider crisis of all the current development systems,” Gorbachev told the Inter Press Service (IPS) this week. “In fact, there are connected simultaneous crises that are rapidly emerging. These relate to energy, water, food, demography, climate change and the ecosystem devastation.”
So, what do you know about Barack Obama’s and John McCain’s energy and environmental policy proposals?
Probably the basics: Obama supports spending $150 billion over ten years to kick-start the “green economy.” Both support cap-and-trade systems to address climate change. McCain’s become a strong proponent of opening up more offshore areas to oil and gas drilling.
Now, what do you know about their records on these issues? Their past statements, writings, and votes?
Probably not nearly as much. The candidates have had ample opportunities to present their proposals, but few media outlets are providing details on how each of these men has approached energy and environmental issues in the past. As these issues are tied directly to the US’ economic health, they’re now front and center in this last month of campaign season.
So, are you willing to wait for the mainstream media to provide such details? If so, good luck. If you’re not, why not join us in digging for the specifics.
If it wasn’t bad enough that we seem to be pumping more and more in the way of greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere, we humans seem to be doing a pretty damn good job of eating away any chance of removing said emissions.
The latest comes in a one-two punch. First of all experts are labeling the fight to save the Florida Everglades as a “losing battle,” while Brazil’s Environment Minister is blaming upcoming elections and increasing food prices for another rise in Amazon deforestation.
So no matter which way you look at it, the simple fact of the matter is, humans are irreversibly stupid.
Get involved and take action to save the planet. Share commentary and ideas on the environmental challenges we face, and the potential solutions to these crises.
