The platform being discussed at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) is infinitely more environmentally aware than the platform agreed upon at the Republican National convention. However both political parties are less than perfect when it comes to their proposed green initiatives for the next four years.
As reviewed in a Desmog blog post published in Eco-Watch the Republican party platform is essentially a recipe for dependence on fossil fuels.
For their part the Democrats have caved to Republican pressure and they have backpedaled on the environment from their 2008 position. They are no longer calling for an end to fossil fuels, instead they have adopted an all of the above strategy. Although the DNC platform calls for an international deal to curtail GHG pollution, it no longer indicates that the agreement should be binding. The platform also drops the party’s 2008 support for cap-and-trade.
The Obama Administration’s environmental policy has eroded over the last four years due to virulent opposition from the GOP and some of their own membership.
While it is easy to criticize, it is irresponsible to consider the DNC’s environmental platform in a vacuum. The political realities need to be
factored into the equation. If the Democrats adopt the kind of
environmental position that many environmentalists are advocating, they
are at greater risk of losing the forthcoming election and Republican control of the White House and the Congress would be a disaster.
Although neither platform offers the broad spectrum changes we need to see to effectively curtail climate change, the Democrats are still by far the best option.
© 2012, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.
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