By: Brandon Drescher
From The Student Printz, Newspaper of the University of Southern Mississippi
Posted: 9/11/08
I do not like to dwell on the political realm very often, but unfortunately I am surrounded with differing viewpoints and parties, and arguments within this realm that arise and last for…well, a lifetime for some people. What a lot of people have been discussing lately is John McCain's choice for running mate, Sarah Palin of Alaska.According to Time magazine, McCain has "flip-flopped" on offshore drilling for petroleum while still opposing opening up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) for exploration of energy purposes. However, Palin believes that ANWR should be opened for drilling.
Alaska is warming up faster than any other state in the United States, with average temperatures increasing by about 3.6 degrees over the span of 50 years. Palin doubts human action is the driver behind the major climate change we are witnessing and continuously supports the use of
petroleum-based energy products.
President Bush, for years, asked for more research on the issue of global warming in order to have more time to make firm decisions about the global warming threat and alterations of our energy policies. It seems with Palin we could see a repeat of these claims of "no human impact", or at least a "clear" human impact on the environment.
Every single living thing on this planet has some impact on the environment around it.
It's just that we humans have an exponentially greater impact, and if we wait for more "research" our actions will be our demise.
According to David Willett, the press secretary for the Sierra Club, "Our main concern with Sarah Palin's positions are that they are based on what is best for the oil industry, and not what is best for Americans."
Palin has bashed the idea for strengthening protections for beluga whales and sued the federal government in response to the Department of the Interior listing the polar bear as a threatened species. It is counter-productive to the aims of the oil industry for these listings and protections; it makes the habitats of these animals off-limits to exploitation.
If the 19-million-acre ANWR in the northeastern region of Alaska is opened for drilling, we can all kiss the bears, especially the polar bears, and the sandhill cranes, gray wolves and herds of caribou that live in the region goodbye. It is said by many that the reserve is "one of the last places on earth when a human being can kneel down and drink from a world stream without being poisoned or polluted."
John McCain even stated that we set aside this land and called it a refuge for a reason. This is a refuge for the animals who depend on the environment. It is a refuge; it should only be disturbed when all options are completely out the window for refueling our addiction to oil. We are looking into and researching alternative fuels to get off our addiction. The reserve in Alaska - ANWR - does not have to be touched, ever.
Not all the news about Sarah Palin is dour. She has done some good work in Alaska in terms of improving sewer systems and roads while cutting property taxes by about 40 percent. She supports the Alaska National Guard, even traveling to Kuwait and Germany to visit with its members. She holds high approval ratings as governor. However, if you are not an advocate of saving the environment and lessening the carbon footprint of humans, my approval rating for you is null and void.
So, McCain has chosen a VP, one in my eyes, unworthy of helping lead America forward in terms of turning around the current environmental issues set upon by us and breaking our oil addiction. If McCain is elected, I hope pressure from the oil industries and the standards on which the VP stands does not sway his beliefs on environmental issues.
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1 comment:
Alaska, is THE LAST pristine area, in the US if not the world! Bush and his Ilk has done their best to raze as much of the environment as possible. Sarah Palin is suing the US gov. b/c the polar bears are on the endangered list and it interferes with her plan to drill, in one of the last known pristine places. This is not someone we want for VP or worst case scenario President!
She is doing her best to raze Alaska, Aerial wolf hunting, Bear hunting habituated bears in the Katimi forest (sp) and now endangered polar bears on her hit list. She will not stop! Even John McCain can see the foolishness of Sarah Palin wanting to drill here. And that's not saying much....?
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