CottonTop’s Recent Comments

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  However, in Obama's defense:

  Iowa and Illinois are making TONS of money off corn-based ethanol and the crop subsidies that accompany it, related environmental degradation notwithstanding. Being from Illinois and having used Iowa as a springboard for launching his Presidential bid, Obama will probably not, if elected, throw biofuels overboard--immediately. But the environmental case against biofuels is strong, and growing, and Obama is, if nothing else, pragmatic and non-ideological. He is also very, very receptive to input from all quarters and has a demonstrated willingness to tell folks stuff they don't necessarily want to hear. He understands the country's hunger for a leader who can exhort people to make meaningful sacrifices in order to secure a better world. That's where we come in. One of Obama's top energy policy advisors, Jason Grumet, told me at a meeting in Nevada, Iowa in mid-2007 that he personally preferred a carbon tax to a cap-and-trade system for  reducing carbon dioxide emissions, but that, for the moment, a cap-and-trade system was far more politically feasible. THIS SUGGESTS TO ME THAT AN OBAMA ADMINISTRATION WOULD STRONGLY CONSIDER A CARBON TAX AS OPPOSED TO A CAP-AND-TRADE SYSTEM IF WE PUSH HARDER FOR IT, PUTTING PRESSURE ON ALL LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT. The best thing about Obama is that he believes so strongly in everyday citizens who are engaged in community improvement. He spent 3 years in the "trenches" as a community organizer, and it has shaped his thinking ever since. His campaign motto is Respect, Empower, Include. This is a guy we can work with, and moreover, I believe that his election could signal to would-be terrorists abroad that America might not be so awful after all, which could give us the breathing room we need to help mend our relationships abroad--such an important precursor to the crafting of stronger worldwide environmental standards.  
  On A look at Barack Obama's environmental platform and record posted 1 year, 10 months ago 11 Responses

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  what you can do

  One thing folks can do about this problem is to join Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, the only organization in Iowa that is willing to confront Big  Ag head on and demand accountability from our legislators that are allowing our formerly heavenly rural landscapes to be used as a dumping ground for thousands upon thousands of gallons of hog manure, such that our air sickens us, our water is some of the dirtiest in the nation and the antibiotics that are a staple in the animals' diets are fostering the development of super-germs that threaten us all. Go to www.iowacci.org and sign up. We need you.On A frustrated resident speaks out posted 2 years, 1 month ago 10 Responses