ISSUE:  Environment

Environmental issues become prominent in 2008 election

by Travis Bockenstedt '09

With the rising cost of gas and increasing talk of global warming, environmental issues are becoming a hot topic for voters and presidential candidates. It’s an issue that varies greatly from party to party but is frequently discussed at presidential debates, town hall meetings and during television interviews. What’s interesting about this topic, though, is how each candidate works it into the platform. Whether or not the candidates choose to focus on what we get out of the environment or how we choose to preserve it, the environment could be a winning factor for a candidate in this election. Some candidates have a formal environmental approach; others drift around the subject and focus on the price of gas. Either way, environmental issues are prominent in this election.

Donna Hoffman, Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Northern Iowa, said the candidates are taking a different approach to environmental issues than in past elections. “Environmental issues have played a large role many times in presidential elections so I wouldn’t say there is more or less emphasis on it per say but there certainly is a qualitatively different way that candidates are talking about it and it relates them trying to take us back to this notion of climate change,” says Hoffman.

Global warming and foreign oil dependency issues

Climate change, global warming, and the melting of the polar ice caps are all issues candidates talk about, especially the Democrats. Scientists are telling the world they need to wake up, because global warming is happening, but how does a candidate work that into their platform? How does a candidate even start by tackling global issues when they have to take care of the home front? The answer is the cost and availability of gas.  “If you consider energy and the dependence on foreign oil, I think it should be very important at least as far as conservation of energy and finding alternative sources. Its certainly part of the big picture,” said Dr. David McCullough, Associate Professor of Biology at Wartburg College.

McCullough sees a light at the end of the tunnel, and it starts with the production of alternative fuels such as biodiesel and ethanol. Candidates have been attracted to efforts to produce alternative fuels, particularly in the state of Iowa. Iowa’s first in the nation status makes the state a hotspot for candidates and gives them a chance to visit various ethanol and biodiesel facilities around the state. McCullough said although ethanol has its advantages, he has concerns. 

“I think both have potential. My concern with ethanol is the current emphasis is on grain produced ethanol rather than bio mass type of ethanol,” He says grain produced ethanol has many problems and is heavily subsidized.

Instead, McCullough would like more attention brought to another type of fuel. “I think biodiesel needs to be pushed a bit more. I think the potential is really good for biodiesel and right now ethanol is getting the play and biodiesel not so much.”

Western Dubuque Biodiesel makes economic/environmental changes

Western Dubuque Biodiesel was formed in Nov. 2005 and since then has opened a facility in Farley, Iowa and can produce 30 million gallons of diesel a year. “I think its great for the Iowa economy. It provides jobs and adds value to Iowa products, soybeans and corn. And it benefits the whole country, producing a fuel that’s renewable and relieves a little bit of our reliance on foreign oil,” said Mike Chandler, Operations Manager of Western Dubuque Biodiesel.

Like many grain-based fuels, the price is dependent on availability of raw materials. Western Dubuque Biodiesel states in their annual report, “The cost of feedstock is the largest single component of the cost of biodiesel production, accounting for 70 percent to 90 percent of the overall cost of producing biodiesel. As a result, the increased costs for feedstock greatly impact the biodiesel industry.”

To compensate for this, tax incentives such as those used by the ethanol industry help regulates the cost of these fuels. The State of Iowa gives a 2.5-cent income tax credit for each additional gallon of ethanol blend sold once ethanol reaches 60 percent of a retailer’s total fuel sales.

2008 candidates rally on alternate fuels

It is clear that the venture into alternative fuels is having its benefits, but more needs to be done to refine the process. Some candidates agree. Candidates such as, Sen. Barack Obama (D- Ill.), Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.) have listed information on their web site regarding biofuels. All three are Democratic frontrunners in Iowa and have expressed detailed platform goals for increasing the use of renewable energy such as biofuels.

The Republicans also have outlined some ideas for energy independence, but their focus seems much different than that of the Democrats. For instance, Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R-N.Y.) wants to secure our nation’s energy resources because it impacts our nation’s security. Hoffman said this is because the focus of the Republican Party on energy issues is much different than the focus the Democrats are taking.

“I cannot tell you that one candidate is the environmental candidate because frankly I don’t think that is true. There are other issues that seem to be weighing heavily on the minds of voters than other issues of the environment and those tend to be issues of healthcare, foreign policy and the War in Iraq,” said Hoffman.