Tuesday, August 19, 2008

The face value of a John McCain energy policy



Yeah, right.

John McCain understands that, in this post-An Inconvenient Truth era, the environment and energy production must be addressed and used to win over as many voters as possible. Personally, I don't buy it. I used to work for a company that moved its headquarters to Arizona due to Arizona's light regulations on air pollutants, making it easier for the company to get their highly-inefficient vehicles fleet licensing for the lowest possible cost. Arizona is a state notorious for relaxing its environmental standards in effort to attract high-polluting businesses. A primary example is Arizona's shining contributions to the health of the Colorado River.

Take it for what you will, but John McCain has been an Arizona senator since 1982, almost the entire duration of my life. If he cared one iota about the environment he has had plenty of time to do something about it.

If you care about the environment, climate change, or sustainability, please research responsibly.

1 comment:

Zach Wallmark said...

John McCain's recent plans regarding the environment have been deeply troubling. There is no doubt that McCain (at least on the campaign trail) is more committed to combating climate change than the present administration, and his positions in the past have been very promising. But recent flip-flops (and the disturbing issues you link to) should force us to reevaluate McCain's record (and his connection to moneyed energy interests). Everyone who knows anything (economists, geologists, etc.) agrees that off-shore drilling won't produce actual price declines at the pump for another 10 years or so, and even then they will be nominal and certainly not worth the environmental risks posed by drilling. It is snake oil pure and simple, but it appears to have worked: a majority Americans now favor off-shore drilling.

To me, a Republican drumming up business for energy industries while disguising it "the public good" is nothing surprising at all; what has me more concerned than McCain's foolish but politically smart posturing is Obama's recent statement that he would "consider" drilling off-shore. Understanding that the argument has already been made and the narrative set in motion, Obama is moving in the direction of appeasement over sound, logical environmental/energy policy.

This is an issue we should all follow closely. Thanks for posting on it.