Make Your Vote Count

Tomorrow is a big day - regardless of the outcome, it will be a historic. Recently I was interviewed by the CW’s Here and Now host about being green. During my interview I was asked how important are the environmental issues in this election in which I replied, “very important.” I explained that both candidates have outlined their environmental programs on their websites as well as touched upon it during the many debates they have had. And while each candidate has an energy plan to declare independence from foreign oil, the candidates do differ on how that will happen and what the environmental impact will be for that energy independence. While I will not give my political affiliation or how I will vote, what I will say is that Obama seems to have a very well thought out and detailed plan to increase climate change awareness, reduce our environmental impact, the use of alternative energy, develop green jobs, and give specific timelines to reach various eco-impact goals. Whereas, McCain’s program is a little more general. What McCain does give is a timeline to reduce greenhouse gas emissions within the next 40 years. His plan is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to below 1990 levels. Will this be enough? Many countries around the world started becoming very worried about our greenhouse emission and global warming only after major shifts in the climate were being seen in the 1990s. As far as McCain’s strategy for energy independence though, he made a very smart move by putting Sarah Palin on the ticket. For several years, 500,000 acres of protected land in Alaska was preserved for wildlife by the federal government in order to lessen the environmental impact. The Bush Administration had tried several times to overturn this protection in order to allow drilling to occur to gain domestic oil surplus and lessen our dependence on foreign oil. Around 2005, the persistence succeeded and it was declared that some of this land would be available to start drilling. With the election of Sarah Palin as governor in 2006, this goal was solidified. As one of her main priorities of energy development, drilling for oil to lessen our dependence on foreign oil has continued into her current campaign as VP. While Palin was an unknown for many, this move to bring her on the ticket was a little more thought through than many give McCain credit for. In ending, it is up to you to decide what issues are important and how they will affect you. Check out my interview on http://cw27.com - go to the video section and hit Free 2B Green videos…there you will see mine and many others on green and environmental issues.