The Environment and Politics

I don't understand why Republicans (in general) don't seem to give a shit about the environment. Ignore Al Gore and global warming, and at the end of the day, protecting our environment is still very important. Who doesn't want clean air and clean water? Many areas of the country are experiencing major water restrictions. A lot of the focus these days are about conserving energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. You don't hear a lot about water in the news and how it's important to reduce our water consumption. Energy and water go hand in hand. It takes a lot of water to produce energy. Nuclear power plants use a TON of water. If we conserve energy, then that's less energy the power plant needs to produce and less water they need to consume.

I think that many Republicans aren't really anti-environment. I think that they're pro-business, and Republicans (and many businesses) think that it would put them at a disadvantage to go green. To a certain extent, they're right. But like any major issue, it's complicated and can't be so easily disected. For example, I've been reading in the paper lately about manufacturers striving to have zero landfill impact. Waste from manufacturing is recycled and/or is reused for other purposes. Walmart (for all the grief that many people give them) does a really good job using energy efficient equipment, day lighting, and other green practices. They are a company realizes that investing in these technologies saves money in the long run. All that said, I'm sure there are some sectors of the economy that would be hindered by tighter environmental regulations. We're already at a competitive disadvantage when competing in the global workplace. It would be even harder to compete if other developing countries do not also comply with these same regulations. I see that arguement a lot. "Why bother? The rest of the world isn't doing it. They polute a lot more than we do." I think that protecting the environment is something this country needs to lead on. This country needs to be the driving force behind protecting our environment. More pressure needs to be put on countries that are the biggest polluters (China and India for example) to significantly improve their environmental regulations.

Here's a LINK so you can check out how green your senators and representatives are. If your representative is doing a good job, contact them and tell them to keep up the good work and that you support them. If they are not doing a good job, tell them to get their ass in gear and that you'll kick his sorry ass out of office in November if he doesn't start voting the right way.

If you'd checked out some of these, you would have learned that John McBush ... er ... McCain, scored a zero on the 2007 scorecard. That's right. The presidential candidate that some tout as being a green Republican got a goose egg for his votes on environmental matters last year. That's in part because he missed all 15 votes on which LCV measured his greenworthiness. But, then, his lifetime LCV rating is a pitiful 24%. Both Senator Clinton and Senator Obama missed four votes. Nonetheless, Clinton clocked in at 73% (87% lifetime), Obama at 67% (86% lifetime).