[Graeme]

Worried about the economy? It's the environment, stupid

In recent weeks a slew of stories has hit the news about the soaring price of food, petrol and household energy – and the financial pressure this is putting on cash-strapped households. But as politicians scrabble around for the best short-term fix, a fundamental cause underpinning much of these economic woes is often overlooked. Under the bonnet, there's something big going on: we're damaging the planet and draining its resources, and it's starting to cost us big time.

With growing confidence scientists are linking climate change to the increasingly freakish weather around the globe which is causing food prices to rise. Earlier this month the National Farmers' Union predicted more price rises when it revealed that wet weather had cut UK wheat yields by 15%.

Natural resources are not infinite and with developing economies growing fast, we're beginning to discover that there are not enough to go round. You only have to look at your energy bills to see the predictable effect this all has. According to energy regulator Ofgem, our gas and electricity bills have sharply risen principally because of the rocketing price of fossil fuels, driven by international demand. In 2011 the price of natural gas was the biggest cause of increases in domestic energy bills, which were somewhere in the region of £200.

And it's the same story with oil prices: up, up, up, with all that entails when you fill your car at the pump. All of this hits the poorest hardest, with more than 5m households now in fuel poverty, and "transport poverty" – where people cannot afford to travel and so struggle to find work or access services - a stark and growing problem.

guardian

[Plantagenet]

Obama hasn't fixed either the economy OR the environment.

The promise of "stopping the seas from rising" while creating "millions of high-paying green jobs" sounded great in 2008, but here in 2012 Obama has fallen silent about the environment and instead is promising support for frakking and coal mining in his campaign speeches.


Someone needs to explain to Obama that he needs a offer a plan for his second term that encompasses both the economy AND the environment, stupid.

[Lore]

Maybe those Mayans were onto something after all?

[SeaGypsy]

Come on Planty, what is Romney going to do about the environment?

[Graeme]

Climate and energy: How do Romney and Obama compare?

How their campaigns compare on five issues

1. Oil/gas drilling

Obama: Rejected the initial northern half of the Keystone XL pipeline, which would run from Canada to Texas, but deferred a final decision. Proposed opening more offshore areas to oil and gas drilling but maintains moratorium off the Pacific and most of the Atlantic coasts. Seeks federal safety standards for hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, a process by which natural gas is extracted. Opposes $4 billion in annual tax breaks for oil and gas companies.

Romney: Approves of Keystone XL pipeline. Favors giving states the ability to regulate drilling and issue leases (even on federal land). Supports opening all federal land for oil and gas drilling, including the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the Pacific, Atlantic and Alaskan coasts. Backs tax credits for manufacturers, including oil and gas companies.

2. Renewable energy

Obama: Favors renewal of the tax credit for utility-scale wind producers, slated to expire Dec. 31. Supports loan guarantees and grants for green-energy companies.

Romney: Opposes the renewal of the wind tax credit. Criticizes Obama's stimulus bill funding for solar, wind and electric vehicle companies.

3. Vehicle fuel efficiency

Obama: Finalized plans, with support of major automakers, to double fuel economy for light trucks and cars, to 54.5 miles per gallon, by 2025.

Romney: Opposes Obama's efficiency mandate, saying consumers will have to spend more on cars than they'll save by using less gas.

4. Clean air

Obama: Supports the authority of the Environmental Protection Agency, upheld by the Supreme Court, to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. Backs tougher rules for limiting emissions from old coal-fired power plants.

Romney: Seeks to eliminate EPA's power to regulate carbon dioxide and remove its rules limiting emissions from coal plants. "I exhale carbon dioxide," he said in November in New Hampshire. " I don't want those guys (EPA) following me around with a meter to see if I'm breathing too hard."

5. Climate change:

Obama: Believes it's serious, exacerbated by fossil fuel use and linked to extreme weather. "Climate change is not a hoax," he told the Democratic National Convention last month in Charlotte, N.C. "More droughts and floods and wildfires are not a joke. They are a threat to our children's future."

Romney: Argues there's a lack of scientific consensus on the issue. "We don't know what's causing climate change on this planet," he told the Consol Energy Center last October.

usatoday

Face It: If Romney Wins, The Nation Will Be Much Worse Off

At least two reasons come to mind. First, the stakes are high. If Romney/Ryan win and really do:
–pass another massive trickle down tax cut on top of making the Bush tax cuts permanent;
–repeal Obamacare, voucherize Medicare, and block grant Medicaid and food stamps;
–deregulate financial markets and environmental protections;
–push through budgets that spend a lot more on defense and a lot less on public goods, including education;
…the nation will be a lot worse off for it.

businessinsider

If you think Mitt Romney's lies and secrets are bad now, just wait

Back in July, David Axelrod, senior campaign adviser for the Obama campaign, called Mitt Romney "the most secretive candidate we've seen probably since Richard Nixon."
Pretty scary considering what we do know. Romney has, of course, only released two years of tax returns, won't talk about the details of his time at Bain and Bain Capital, his dealings with China or his Swiss and Cayman bank accounts. Most of all he won't explain what he really has in mind when it comes to spending or taxing or how it all fits together logically and logistically.

Then there are the secrets kept concealed by the relentless lying. Romney even lies about his lying.


Two things about Romney, however, are not secret. He will do what it takes to make money the lazy man's way—by demolishing other people's jobs. And he will pretend to be whatever the latest audience wants him to be in order to squirm his way into the White House. If he gets there, the secrets he will keep will be far more consequential than whatever he's hiding in those unreleased tax returns.

dailykos

[yeahbut]

Come on Planty, what is Romney going to do about the environment?

Tedious, isn't it? Oh well, planted used 2 hijack threads into a rep/dem pissing contest with almost every post, now he only seems to do it around election time, so that's something to be thankful for I suppose.

[Plantagenet]

Climate and energy: ...Obama....?]

Why do you even care what promises Obama makes?

Obama didn't keep any of his 2008 campaign promises on jobs or the environment
----do you really think he's somehow changed and isn't lying this time?

[dinopello]

It's all interrelated. The environment, the economy, the population etc. It all works itself out in the End.

Powers probably going to be out here for a while.

[Lore]

Face It: If Romney Wins, The Nation Will Be Much Worse Off

At least two reasons come to mind. First, the stakes are high. If Romney/Ryan win and really do:
–pass another massive trickle down tax cut on top of making the Bush tax cuts permanent;
–repeal Obamacare, voucherize Medicare, and block grant Medicaid and food stamps;
–deregulate financial markets and environmental protections;
–push through budgets that spend a lot more on defense and a lot less on public goods, including education;
…the nation will be a lot worse off for it.

They forgot the war with Iran, the cold war with Russia and the trade war with China.

As far as the environment goes, most of those living now under 30 won't see 60.

[Revi]

What they forget is that the "economy" is a subset of the environment. The "economy" has to do with the carrying capacity for humans in the system. All this system does is shift around the wealth. Lately it doesn't do a very good job of increasing carrying capacity.

[smiley]

An old Russian sayings says "All you need in life are a good health and money. The rest you can buy".

Now obviously you cannot buy a new planet. But you can do your best not to damage it too much. Its attitude and personal action which have the most effect, both of which money cannot buy and politics cannot provide.

But a little money goes a long way in mitigation the effects of climate change. Take a few k's and you can buy double glazing, PV, to reduce your energy dependence. Money gives you choice of location, savings, a buffer against the unexpected.

So I worry about the environment and let my wallet do the voting.

On that note I think that both Obama and Romney are disasters on the environment as well as economics, so I'm glad that I haven't got to vote for either of them.

[Lore]

But a little money goes a long way in mitigation the effects of climate change. Take a few k's and you can buy double glazing, PV, to reduce your energy dependence. Money gives you choice of location, savings, a buffer against the unexpected.

So I worry about the environment and let my wallet do the voting.

Practically, while you're voting with your wallet 10x10 are not.