The truth is, nowhere. I am still here on the interweb, but other things have become more of a priority. I am still an avid spork user. I still stand by my principles. And some new positive aspects have entered into my life that have made it all just a little bit (or a lot bit) better. Specifically referring to Spork Theory, some examples of new endeavors include: a baby blueberry bush (she won't be producing berries for a couple of years, but she has a home!), an herb garden, a sourdough starter, a sprout jar, and homemade almond milk. Blogs about these are soon to come!
For now, I want to address an issue that is more present on most people's minds, and that is that this is an election year. There have been some local elections that have raised arms here in Anchorage, but on a more national level, I want to make sure I look at our candidates very closely, especially their stance on environmental issues. So I did a little research.
Best CANDIDATE COMPARISON Website
The link above will take you to an easy-to-read chart that describes each candidate's stance on major political issues. Of course, the two most popular candidates are Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, so I will mainly focus on those two, unless there are major sore thumbs I really want to share with you.
A word about Romney's campaign: You will be hard pressed to find an issue or campaign ad where he does not mention Obama's name. From what I can see, his entire campaign is about attacking Obama. Poor form, Romney. Poor form.
Now on to the environmental issues, the reason we are here.
Obama believes in Climate Change.
Romney does not believe in Climate Change.
Wait, what?? That's right, Romney does not believe in Climate Change. Neither does Jared Blankenship. (Randall Terry and James McCall do not have a stance on the issue.) Everyone else does believe it (whew!).
Those two candidates that don't believe in Climate Change both (shockingly) believe in more oil drilling in the United States. That would include ANWR and all offshore drilling. Haven't we had enough oil spills? How many times do we go back to the oil companies and just believe that their equipment is safe and their responses are fast? They're not and they're not. Or, they're not and it doesn't matter. The oil has been spilled.
More specific stances on environmental issues include the following:
Obama wants to enact clean energy standards and secure America's energy sources. He believes in innovating new clean energy possibilities like the rest of the first world is doing. Because he knows that the oil that provides for our current lifestyle as Americans will not be around forever.
Romney, however, opposes EPA regulation of greenhouse gases. In fact, Romney opposes the EPA in general. Regulate greenhouse gases? he says. That's communist! Or, it is a way to protect us from ourselves. It is always interesting to me how so many adults still have such juvenile reactions to the government, almost exactly the same way teenagers react to parents. "What? They want me to wear a seat belt?? I'm not going to wear a seat belt just because it's the law!" or "What? They want me to not pollute?? I'm going to pollute as much as possible just because it's a law!" Polluting is not a freedom or a right, and taking it away doesn't infringe on our rights. It protects our lungs, our children, our food, our lives.
Anyway, my point is, consider carefully how you vote. Although no candidate will make anyone 100% happy, consider which one is least devastating to our country as a whole.
