Waste and the Media Ecosystem:
An introduction to a New Column on Easy Ways to Go Green
It has become a well-accepted fact that most things we know will change in our lifetime. Those of us who are unhappy with the state of the world today try to promote and further that change, hopefully harnessing it in a more positive direction. Change or the expectation of change has lost its surprise.
Thinking green might be understood as an effort to rationalize the natural world in terms of sustainability. The green movement pushes to conceptually re-introduce humans in the global ecosystem and remove the dichotomy of Man vs. Nature.
One way that this is done is by describing our vision of the world with green vocabulary. The goal is to systemically inject our dialogues with terms that better reflect the world we want to live in, a greener world. And fortunately, this is working.
Think of how widespread and how easily people generally recognize terms such as “green economy” or “organic” or “sustainable development.” These are not just jargon but words in the mouths of mass consumers. My point is that the word “green” is gaining in appeal and perception. Most people today equate green with a positive, healthy and desirable trait. Continue reading
Is John McCain Really Green?
How Eco-Friendly Is Republican Nominee John McCain?
So it’s pretty clear that the Bush administration has treated the issue of climate change in a completely inept and incompetent manner. With John McCain as the presumptive Republican presidential candidate for the 2008 election, it’s his job to bring the GOP up to date on this whole “global warming” issue.
John McCain Vs. Global Warming
McCain has been calling for greener political initiatives long before Bush’s administration even bothered to acknowledge there is any kind of problem, and while he has been quick to point this out on the campaign trail, his legislative record has been shaky at best. He has called for a mandatory cap-and-trade to reduce U.S. carbon emissions to 60 percent compared to levels from 1990 by 2025 and has also stated in several speeches how working with China and India to stop the issue is one of the necessary steps the U.S. must take to fight global warming. However, this plan looks great on paper, but may not be properly executed compared to the Democrat’s longer-term solutions to search for alternative energy sources.
The verdict on McCain and the environment? He’s definitely a green Republican, but not quite the greenest candidate. Granted, he still needs to appease the hardcore members of the GOP, yet now is the time for him to show just what he can do to convince the American people he can battle climate change. Don’t give up on him — he was a POW, after all. But so far, the greenest president possible is on the Dems side.
Click here to read more about John McCain and what he thinks about environmental change.
Copyright 2008 Easy Ways to Go Green
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Posted in Social Commentary
Tagged 2008 presidential campaign, cap and trade, carbon emissions, climate change, global warming, green presidential candidate, john mccain