Who loves the planet more???

We're only discussing the environment here. This post isn't intended to show who I'm voting for because frankly, I haven't made up my mind. We're talking about the ENVIRONMENT. I think we've been bombarded with information on how the candidates feel about the economy, the war, and so forth, but I for one believe they have been lacking in the environmental department. Or perhaps the media has not been focusing on it. A closer look at their environmental platforms has been eye-opening.

I agree with Serena in her classification of McCain as a market liberal. I think it's pretty obvious since his principles rest heavily on "markets" and "trade systems." McCain may also be leaning toward the institutionalists, since one of his principles is facilitating "international efforts." Perhaps he is calling for greater international cooperation, since climate change is a global issue. His solutions to climate change all work together and all the solutions sound like we're speaking about world trade, rather than the climate: "caps," "competition," "markets," etc. I'm not saying there's something wrong with this. I'm saying I've never thought about the environment in this way...(eye-opening). The production and implementation of new technologies can have a big impact on the environment, as well as the economy. It seems to me that McCain believes new technologies have the potential of curing environmental ills as well the ills the US economy faces. McCain ties environmental progress with "rapid economic growth," which shows he fits into the market liberal category.

Moving onto Obama...I began to read and was looking for something that was completely different from McCain, but I was more surprised in how similar their beliefs were. The cap-and-trade method was the first similarity that I noticed. This led me to believe he was also a market liberal, but I kept on reading. Like McCain, Obama ties the environment with economic gain. I think the biggest difference between McCain and Obama is that Obama lays out what people can do and what could possibly be done for people if he is elected. This is seen in his "Short term relief to American Families" and "Create Millions of New Green Jobs." Obama isn't focused on the economy alone because he's calling for a bigger and stronger relationship between people and the environment. It seems as if Obama's environmental solutions require a partnership between citizens (the key), the government, and the environment.

After reading about what both candidates believe and intend to do if elected, I think it's still hard to decide which proposal will actually bear fruits. I think both look great on paper because they share so many similarities. The main difference as stated before is probably the responsibility and initiative that will be up to citizens, according to Obama's platform. McCain is using the idea of a more prosperous and improved economy to call for environmental change. In light of today's market woes, it would make sense to improve the economy in any way we can. Obama does does a good job of making people want to connect with the environment and strive for that "change." If we focus only on markets, the tasks at hand for the environment may get lost or worse, forgotten about. Obama brings the environment to the forefront with economic undertones.