One progressive national political group wanted to know what the presidential candidates planned to do about global warming and environment.
The Obama campaign responded by planting trees in Iowa - - 3,000 of them, by 500 volunteers, on Earth Day.
That's walking the walk.
The YouTube audio is not the greatest, but you get the message, and it's savvy on all levels.
I don't get the big deal. They planted tress.
ReplyDeleteWhen asked in the first debate about environmental policy, Obama responded "plant some trees."
If anyone thinks we're going to plant our way toward environmental sustainability, they haven't been paying attention to 80+ years of failing American policies on the environment. We must address root causes, take on the corporations that are destroying the environment (among other things), and make actual real changes through the political process and not rely on social service projects to cure what ails us (this applies to pretty much every public problem of which I can think, from poverty and economic injustice to equal rights and ending war).
It reminds me of the adage about teaching a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime versus giving a man a fish so he can eat for a day.
Plant a few proverbial trees, feel good about the environment. Prevent corporations from cutting down the proverbial trees, and we'll protect the planet for its lifetime.
Incidentally, John Edwards has come out with a concrete plan on how our public institutions can bring about positive change on environmental policy and impact our planet. And it's just the first of many bold plans from John on the environment. I looked through Obama's page, and I don't see a thing on there about environmental policy besides some healthcare for hybrids incrementalism.
I'm not saying he's an empty suit (he's not), but it's about time progressives and liberals stop projecting onto this empty vessel their hopes (it's audacious!) and dreams for a potentially liberal fresh face as a candidate.