Today is Blog Action Day, an attempt to bring the environment into the forefront of discussion. I’m sure there’ll be plenty of advice for living a sustainable life - if you’re so inclined, check out Emerald City, an L.A. Times blog on green living for L.A., for example.
That’s not my forte, though. Instead, I’d like to ask a question: Why is the environment such a politically divisive issue?
Yes, we can argue about implementation details - but in broad strokes, we should all be able to agree, or so I think.
At the core of many of our environmental woes is the dependency on fossil fuels, namely oil. But oil isn’t an issue that should only speak to tree-hugging granola munchers like me. The issue of oil deeply affects national security. Our dependency on it is the cause for thousands of American deaths in the Middle East. Oil exports finance terrorism.
So why are we not pushing to become independent of oil?
Yes, it would require a lot of money, and a lot of hard work. But in 1961, when Kennedy suggested putting a man on the moon, that seemed like an almost unachievable goal too. At that point, we sort-of knew how to build rockets, and that was it. And yet, we managed - we got a man on the moon, in less than ten years. (On the day I was born, no less!)
We can achieve the same for oil independence. The benefits for the United States and the world would be immense. It means a significant blow against terrorism. It means the creation of new technology, of new jobs, and a new age of science. In fact, if global warming is indeed caused by humanity’s emissions, it could mean saving the world. Who could not support that?
But, as Kennedy said:
New objectives and new money cannot solve these problems. The could in fact, aggravate them further–unless every scientist, every engineer, every serviceman, every technician, contractor, and civil servant gives his personal pledge that this nation will move forward, with the full speed of freedom, in the exciting adventure of space.
I give my pledge that I will do everything in my power to move this country forward towards oil independence, and I won’t let political interests interfere. Are you in?
Thanks for the shoutout, Groby. Is enviro still politically divisive though? I mean, Bush doesn’t seem to care, obviously, but other Republicans seem to….