I was at WinCo buying our week’s worth of groceries and saw a magazine cover featuring Al Gore, Julia Roberts, George Clooney and someone else. I can’t remember the name of the magazine but do remember that it had something to do with global warming, making the statement that it’s a problem more serious than global terrorism.
As we gripe about how “high” gas prices have shot up this week, I can’t help but remember back to late 2001 when we had a chance to do something about our oil addiction. I’d have to say that in a nutshell, we’ve squandered the last four years as far as terminating our dependence on fossil fuels from the Middle East.
I hope our next president, whether Democrat or Republican, will take a more proactive role in eliminating our dependence on foriegn fuel. Instead, we squandered. We started wars and lied about the reasons for going into war. And now we find ourselves having to worry about neighbors that know we can’t do anything because we’re too tied up in trying to build new democracies.
I’m very dissappointed with the image that our current president has portrayed about evangelical Christians: that we’re a bunch of stupid warmongers that want to start crusades and destroy the environment. I hate that image. My disagreement with the liberals mostly deals with their hyprocricy regarding human rights: adamantly defending unhealthy, damning immorality while ignoring the rights of the unborn future children, and assuming that throwing money at everything will fix all problems. In regards to most other matters, I would probably be considered as liberal as they come.
The next president is going to have to have a plan…a real plan. He’s (I avoid she because I just don’t think Hillary would win – maybe come 2nd, but not win*) going to need a clear exit or continuance plan for Iraq. Honestly, I’d erase the old post-Ottaman Empire lines and split the nation up according to ethnic lines (Kurds, Sunni and Shiites), and pray that we can pull out all our troops before the competing nations go to war. I’m not sure who wants to have to fix Bush’s mess, because that’s what the next term or two is going to involve.
The next president’s got to have a decent gas dependency reduction plan. I’d start with a four year plan to eliminate fuel importing – stock piling oil and maximizing pipelines during the importing years to reduce economic shock. I’d also enforce solar roofs on all new housing developments within a four year period, to reduce fossil fuels burned for electric consumption. I’d treat this like a war-time conservation effort. We started a war in Iraq for who knows what now, we can scrimp to eliminate our dependency on foriegn fuel.
*BTW, I think Hillary might make a good president (if not for ties to Bill), but I just don’t think she’d win. Oh, Gore won’t win either.