Questions for Week 3

1. For the democratic side I looked at Barack Obama. After reading over his material and the four categories of environmental perspectives I have decided that Obama seems to be a combination of an Institutionalist and a Bio-environmentalist. He is a bio-environmentalist because he believes that humans are over-using and using inappropriately the resources available to us and because of this the world is in a crisis environmentally. Obama suggests that changes in lifestyle are necessary for us to turn the environmental clock around. An example of this is through his promise to reward "forest owners, farmers, and ranchers when they plant trees, restore grasslands, or undertake farming practices that capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere." Obama does however also believe strong in technology and what that can do to help us restore the planet. Through his plan on investment in technology and clean energy he is falling under the Institutionalist category by saying that we can act now and prevent environmental crisis if we all work together. Barack Obama wants to use the international community and engage them on topics such as global energy and other environmental issues.

John McCain, like other Institutionalists believes that "climate change is real" and "that it is devestating" and that "we may someday reach a tipping point where we cannot save our climate" but that we are not there yet. Like Institutionalists, he also believes that it is important to support international measures on climate change and the environment, such as the Kyoto Protocal, in order to reduce green house gases. However, he believes that we should only consider doing this if China and India join. McCain also seems to be a bit of a Market liberal based on his strong belief in the connection between the economy and the environment and the belief that if we destroy the environment then we are destroying the country's economy as well.

2. To me, Barack Obama is clearly talking the most sense on the environment and obviously talking about it more in general. Even without reading in detail about the two candidates, you can tell by the length of information available from each one how important environmental issues are to them. Barack Obama has a clear and seemingly doable plan for the environment, including dates and goals for increasing energy efficiency, a plan for the re-engagement with the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, and much more. The little information that McCain gives on his website is vague and he provides no concrete plans for the necessary change. To me, he was also controversial. McCain claims that, "ignoring the problem reflects a 'liberal live for today' attitude" yet he supports the use of nuclear energy which is only beneficial at present and creates potentially huge problems for future generations in dealing with the waste. Barack Obama talks in extent about environmental issues and plans in his speeches and physically shows support for students and others who are working hard for issues such as climate change. Like his slogan says, Barack Obama is the "change we can believe in."