Loretto Earth Network News Elections 2012 — Vote for the Environment! Summer 2012
Vol. 20, No. 3
A Campaign Issue in Disguise in 2012:
The Environment By Maureen Fiedler SL
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V pundits say that the 2012 election is all about the economy… jobs, jobs, jobs. You don’t hear much (directly) about the environment: clean air and water, renewable energy or endangered species (unless one political party is talking about the other!). But make no mistake about it… this election IS about the environment because environmental issues are intimately intertwined with the economy. The essential question is not economic growth… but what KIND of growth. The question isn’t just “jobs;” it’s what KIND of jobs. Green jobs? Or jobs mining coal and refining oil? These concerns touch more than the presidential election. We need public servants at all levels who are “ecoliterate,” i.e., who understand and are willing to act on the findings of climate science. That includes members of the House and Senate, governors and state legislators, as well as the president. But electoral discussions of the environment are usually disguised in other language. The first disguise is a discussion of “regulations.” We frequently hear something like this: “Governmental regulations are killing us…stifling business…holding back job creators!” Next time you hear this, ask yourself, “What regulations are they talking about?” Many of those “awful”
regulations are environmental rules to ensure clean air and water, keep toxins out of our food supply and take steps to curb climate change.
For example, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing a new regulation that would – for the first time – put limits on carbon pollution from coal producers, requiring some level of “carbon capture and storage.” The coal industry is furious; they call it a “war on coal.” Yet, this is the very pollution that must be cut if our planet is to deal adequately with the crisis of climate change. The second disguise is framed something like this: “We have to create more jobs…good jobs… in the energy sector.” One clever attempt to put out this message comes from the so-called “I am an Energy Voter” ads on TV, on buses… just about everywhere. A variety of ordinary looking Americans look you in the eye and say something like this:
“We will need more energy in coming decades, and energy promotes jobs. Join me. I am an energy voter.” What they don’t say is what KIND of energy they mean. But if you google “Energy Voter,” you discover that this campaign is funded by the American Petroleum Institute! They’re not talking about clean, renewable energy; they’re talking about oil! The question of “energy jobs” is also a way of pushing the infamous Keystone Pipeline which would bring oil from the tar sands of Canada to the United States. One of the leading climate scientists in the United States, James Hansen, says the Keystone Pipeline would mean “essentially game over” for the climate. It would mean extracting some of the dirtiest oil on the planet, transporting it to Texas for refining, and in the process, threatening the entire pipeline path with oil spills, including the Ogallala Aquifer which provides up to 30% of our nation’s agricultural water. But this discussion is usually framed in terms of “jobs,” not climate… and everyone wants more job creation. Even President Obama (who believes climate science) is in a tight political spot with this issue, since it is the president who must approve this pipeline. He has approved part of it, but the struggle continues as more demonstrations are planned at the White House in August and September. Continued on page 3