Party Platform Development Thread: Environmental

[POA]

I'm starting this particular thread in order to discuss the environment and environmental policy issues and our platform.

(My ideas will be in a followup thread).

[spikeb]

I think environmental policies should be of great importance, although it probably will not win elections. I think we should focus on a few key areas -

* Rewnewable and clean energy - this is important. This country doesn't just need a renewable energy, but a clean one as well. There's no point in going with something like thermaldepolymerization, which can create oil from just about anything, since oil is highly pollutive.

*Preventing Pollution - This could be done in a variety of ways, and should be. One way should be punative monetary damages to corporations and individuals who pollute. Another way is to mandate very clean standards, and force corporations to pay to clean up their own mess.

* Cleaning up existing pollution - We have something now called SuperFund, dedicated to cleaning up toxic waste sites - that is not enough. SuperFund doesn't get nearly enough funding, and I think as stated above, corps should have to pay to clean up their mess. THis area is of the utmost importance - we really do need to clean up our rivers and urban areas of this toxic crap that is laying there.

* Mandate 100% recycled materials were possible, no new materials can be made until there isn't anything left to recycle. This would greatly help cleaning up and getting rid of our landfills.


will post more as i come up with it.

[spikeb]

I'm going to expand a little bit more on what i think the government's role in clean, renewable energy is.

I feel the government needs to fund research into it, by public universities. to the tune of billions and billions of dollars in grant money and other incentives. the best and the brightest are there, and deserve a chance. I also feel that there ARE alternatives to oil already and they should be utilized ASAP, and that is also the government's job. (no, there's nothing conservative about me.)

[spikeb]

spikeb said:

I also feel that there ARE alternatives to oil already and they should be utilized ASAP, and that is also the government's job. (no, there's nothing conservative about me.)

How the government can do that is first by switching all government offices and buildings to alternative energy - solar, natural gas, wind, others. and do so within a very short time frame. that way, one of our larges organizations in the country will be off polluted energy and also proving the technology to others. and finding hurdles as they occur, obviously. A good thing, if you ask me.

[POA]

spikeb said:

How the government can do that is first by switching all government offices and buildings to alternative energy - solar, natural gas, wind, others. and do so within a very short time frame. that way, one of our larges organizations in the country will be off polluted energy and also proving the technology to others. and finding hurdles as they occur, obviously. A good thing, if you ask me.

A good idea.

An important platform point that needs to be added and addressed:

Support local organic agricultural initiatives (and make sure that this is defined in such a way that it's not corporate welfare).

There's a lot of good reasons for this.

1) If a couple of large corporations control the entire food supply, then they can dictate terms to us in the most basic way possible (obey or we starve you).

2) A big sticking point in terms of foreign policy is the US government's attempts on behalf of Monsanto to force genetically modified foods onto the rest of the world's population.

3) In order to make any progress in the political system as it exists now, we're going to need disaffected voters from rural states and one way to appeal to them is to have a real program to challenge the corporate farming that's forcing them out of their homes and farms.

[stonefruit]

Preserve the wilderness.