Hi, I’m Jesse and I’ll be writing on this blog, “We are Scientists 5″. I’m going to write about the very wide topic of the relation of climate change and politics and probably narrow it down as I go on throughout these 4 weeks. But I won’t write a long introduction– I’m going to jump right in, and obviously it would be ignoring the elephant in the room to not talk about the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that’s going on right now. I read a couple of articles on the topic– one comparing offshore oil drilling and offshore wind turbines by the Huffington Post, and one urging Obama to use the crisis to sponsor clean-energy legislation from Grist.
As for the turbines… well, I can’t say I’m completely sold on wind power. I think it will be an important part of getting clean and sustainable energy, but I’m not convinced that it can provide power on the scale necessary to make a huge impact. Offshore oil drilling, however, I think is one of the hugest mistakes the Obama administration could possibly make. In supporting it, he abandons his liberal and environmentalist base, something he already hasn’t been shy of so. He certainly runs the risk of losing me (still a tentative supporter…) and others. This oil spill highlights the issue, and I completely agree that it’s an opportunity for the president to “redeem” himself with clean energy. However, it seems that once again, the oil corporations have too large an impact in Washington.
By the way, if you still think that said corporations have the best interests of the environment at heart, think again. Citing the unemployment that they cause, California “business groups” seek to delay climate change legislation until unemployment stays below 5.5 percent for a year. Wow! California’s unemployment is currently at 12.6 percent and has only been below 5.5 three times in the last three decades. Couple that with a sluggish economic recovery, and you do the math. California climate change legislation may never take effect– and this is the state that includes Los Angeles, the city with the most car-related pollution in the United States. Unemployment is clearly a red herring for corporate greed… what a surprise. (This will definitely be a recurring theme in my blog posts.)
1 comment so far ↓
The oil spill that is going on is a big crisis. A lot of things are going to be affected, expecially the near-by wildlife. There was talk on what are the best ways to clean up the mess, but in my opinion, the best way is to burn it. Burning will get rid of the oil, but also release a ton of carbon dioxide in the air. I like all the facts that you included.