Monday, February 4, 2008

McCain and Obama trying to be "green monsters?" not really

According to his environment platform, it sounds like John McCain is a market liberal. Due to how limited the explanations of his proposals are, I judged based on the few references he had like the passage, "America's economic and environmental interests are not mutually exclusive, but rather inextricably linked. Our economic prospects depend greatly upon the sustainable use of ample and unspoiled natural resources. A clean and healthy environment is well served by a strong economy. History shows that poverty is a poor steward." This statement leads me to believe that his focus is the economy and that correcting market and policy failures are the way forward indicating a market liberal perspective.
Barack Obama had a lot more to work with in terms of what his environmental platform is and what he proposes. Based on the plans presented, I would deem him an institutionalist. The language used in his plans, such as "Global warming is not a someday problem, it is now. We are already breaking records with the intensity of our storms, the number of forest fires,
the periods of drought. By 2050 famine could force more than 250 million from their homes,"

suggests that he recognizes the potential for an environmental crisis. He references the Bush administration a lot in terms of policies or lack thereof that have had damaging effects on the environment and he plans to implement programs that encourage global institutions for change.

Overall, McCain demonstrated that he could care less about environment and the issue of global warming based on the presentation of his environment platform. He says a lot of fluff about American values and how that ties in to protecting the environment, but that's about it, so I am thoroughly unimpressed. On the other hand, Obama has a lot of fluff too, but like I said, he has a lot more fluff to work with and even some interesting proposals. A couple that caught my eye and that didn't sound too generic were to: Create Green Corps Jobs, Re-engage with the UNFCCC and Protect Children and Families from Lead Poisoning. I feel that Obama's campaign put in a great deal of effort to at least appear to care about the environment, if that's the only thing they are able to achieve. I'm a pessimist but not a fatalist, and hopefully, some of these plans will be implemented by whoever is the next president because there is no doubt that the planet needs help.

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