Week Three Questions

Barack Obama’s environmental plan consists of lowering carbon emissions, reducing fuel use and dependence on foreign oil, using alternative, clean energy such as solar, and creating buildings that are environmentally friendly. For the most part, Obama falls into the category of social greens. Some of his proposed programs include giving farmers and forest owners incentives to plant more trees and allowing grants early on to allow people to build more environmentally friendly buildings. Additionally, he wants to end America’s dependence on foreign oil and convert to cleaner energy. These moves show promise to reverse economic globalization and promote ecological justice.

John McCain, on the other hand, appears to be a bioenvironmentalist, though it is difficult to judge from his website as it contains very little specific information. Overall, he wants to preserve green space, sensibly reduce carbon emissions (I’m guessing that does not mean 80% by 2050, which is needed), use alternative energy such as nuclear, and ensure sustainable use of the land. It seems he believes this can all be accomplished by harnessing market powers and using the economy to reduce pollution. McCain’s proposals are much more focused on economic prosperity; whereas, Obama’s proposals are centered around fixing the problem with the economy coming in second.

While I can see how categorizing candidates into environmental categories can help sort through the leaders, these categories offer little in the way of concrete policies. A social green candidate could have policy proposal that are not feasible or very weak; whereas, a bioenvironmentalist could have a plan designed to be put into effect tomorrow. The categories are helpful, but it is more important to look at the proposals each candidate is making to reduce negative human impact on the environment.

I believe Barack Obama makes the most sense when it comes to environmental policies. While some of his proposal may be difficult to implement and cause a lot of public outcry, he designed the policies with saving the environment as the goal. McCain’s policies seem more concerned with the economy’s well-being; helping the environment is just a good side-effect. It is obvious, giving the content shown on each candidate’s environmental page, who is more concerned about the environment. Obama had quite a bit of text outlining policy proposal, showing numbers and what would happen when, going into detail on a lot of issues, and showing what he has all ready done. McCain simply had a couple of paragraphs talking about how great America is and how we should keep green spaces. He talks about pollution just long enough to say we should limit carbon emissions by switching to nuclear energy. However, he fails to address where the radioactive by-products of nuclear energy will be stored. Obama’s policies are stronger, more numerous, and created to save the environment; therefore, he makes the most environmental sense.