2008 Woodie Awards
Letter to the Editor: Concerns about 'going green' after caucus
Holly Berkowitz (Kirkwood Student)
Issue date: 1/31/08 Section: Opinion
Spotlights came to Iowa with the presidential candidates as Kirkwood Community College students and staff asked them difficult questions. Hopefully those candidates have carried those concerns to other states to develop a more productive economic vision for us.
Some candidates understand the importance of a healthy environment to produce a healthy economy. Chris Dodd helped Bill Clinton and Al Gore to invest in a more prosperous economy during the 1990s because they understood the importance of investing in hidden productivity potentials of the many, of investing in natural systems that produce clean air, clean water, productive soil, productive populations--riches enough for all to share. They understood that even small actions of only one person can cause major effects. They understood that words can change the world, that turning a thermostat down a notch, that improved gas mileage, recycling, that a "green economy" can reduce catastrophic consequences and terrifying costs of global climate change through time.
I think that most Democrats since Franklin D. Roosevelt have understood the importance of innovation, economic sustainability, civil government, the Rule of Law and nature's productivity for shaping more functional public infrastructure foundations enough to stand on.
But unfortunately, Ronald Reagan claimed that "government is the problem" and began to dismantle the public infrastructure foundations and natural systems that we need to survive as a nation.
I hope that those who hope to lead our nation in the future will understand that we need to count more than cash to survive as a nation.
I hope that children will understand the incredible power of their own voice enough to stand up, to speak out for justice and to demand accountability from their government and corporations, to demand real facts enough to change the course of history.
Some candidates understand the importance of a healthy environment to produce a healthy economy. Chris Dodd helped Bill Clinton and Al Gore to invest in a more prosperous economy during the 1990s because they understood the importance of investing in hidden productivity potentials of the many, of investing in natural systems that produce clean air, clean water, productive soil, productive populations--riches enough for all to share. They understood that even small actions of only one person can cause major effects. They understood that words can change the world, that turning a thermostat down a notch, that improved gas mileage, recycling, that a "green economy" can reduce catastrophic consequences and terrifying costs of global climate change through time.
I think that most Democrats since Franklin D. Roosevelt have understood the importance of innovation, economic sustainability, civil government, the Rule of Law and nature's productivity for shaping more functional public infrastructure foundations enough to stand on.
But unfortunately, Ronald Reagan claimed that "government is the problem" and began to dismantle the public infrastructure foundations and natural systems that we need to survive as a nation.
I hope that those who hope to lead our nation in the future will understand that we need to count more than cash to survive as a nation.
I hope that children will understand the incredible power of their own voice enough to stand up, to speak out for justice and to demand accountability from their government and corporations, to demand real facts enough to change the course of history.
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