Green Jobs: Obama or McCain?

With the weather extremely hot for what is meant to be winter and the election only a few days away I decided to incorporate both subjects into this week’s post while relating them to the overall focus of my blog. I researched the blogosphere looking for blogs regarding Obama and McCain’s policies on the environment and employment. As the economy remains in a fragile state both McCain and Obama have been greatly campaigning on how they would form jobs and aid America through these hard times. Obama has been proposing to invest more in renewable energy sources “that will eliminate oil” and create “5 million jobs”. He plans to eliminate having to obtain oil from the Middle East in “10 years”. McCain on the other hand has been focusing on nuclear power. He hopes to build 50 new nuclear plants in the next few years saying that not only will jobs be created through the maintenance and daily operations of the plants but also by creating an industry of constructing nuclear power plant parts. He plans to move nuclear power to the U.S. instead of having it based in other countries as it currently is. Therefore he plans to create jobs by creating plant-construction material and tools businesses. While researching blogosphere I found it harder to find blogs on McCain regarding his take on environmental policy and jobs. Although there were several on Obama many came from an overly bias point of view. However, I did find two blogs which focused on this topic in a more informative way. The first blog “Obama, McCain Promise Jobs by Advancing Clean Technologies” is an extremely useful resource it is more descriptive and analytical written by an employee at A.E. Feldman’s. The second blog “Can green jobs save us?” from Politico is a shorter more succinct blog regarding the presidential candidates’ proposals. I left comments on both blogs and have added them at the bottom for your convenience as the first blog has made comments closed to viewers.

"Obama, McCain Promise Jobs by Advancing Clean Technologies"
Comment:
Thank you very much for your thorough blog regarding the presidential candidates and their policies on green technologies and jobs. You introduce the differing policies clearly while also giving a deeper explanation and analysis. I can see how investments would be smart in the research and development of renewable energy sources. Being renewable resources will mean that more sustainable long-term jobs will be created. Your blog also shows great insight into how other industries and professions will benefit from a greater governmental emphasis on the environment. As mentioned, A.E. Feldman has seen a growing number of law firms increase their environmental law sector and energy practices. It can be seen that Obama’s focus is to invest not only in renewable fuels but renewable energy resources such as wind and solar power. Both of which have extensive potential in becoming major global energy sources. However, I would have liked to have read more on whether Obama’s policies will really create the 5 million jobs he says it will. Regarding the production tax credit, I agree with Obama’s extension of this and can see how Congress will need to also extend the quantity of this more frequently in order for the renewable energy projects to be most beneficial. McCain’s take on the tax although more appealing to the people of today only ensures the ‘even-handed system of tax credits’. Although environmental taxes will not be immediately raised, this means that the necessary solution of increasing research into the technology in order to form conventional energy sources will not be put into effect. McCain’s proposals of using nuclear energy plants have several underlying problems, namely radioactive waste. Furthermore, McCain’s comparison of using nuclear power to countries such as China, India and Russia are not good examples as these countries are seen as developing countries. Developing countries depend on industrial revolutions in order to increase their GDP to reach the level of a developed country. Given the fact that the U.S. is not a developing country we should be focusing on using a sustainable less harmful way of generating energy. Your use of Reuters as a source is professional adding to your scholarly post. Overall I extremely enjoyed reading your post and found it educational.

"Can green jobs save us?"
Comment:
Thank you for your concise yet informative post on McCain and Obama’s economic and environmental policies. I appreciate how you write about both candidates comparing their two views and plans. It is clear that both candidates want a two-fold approach of working towards a greener future while creating new jobs. Both plan for a “new energy income” as stated by Obama which as McCain earlier mentioned will “create millions of jobs”. I enjoy how succinct you are in your blog as you clearly mention the exact differences between Obama and McCain. Obama’s initiatives are directed towards pumping “$15 billion each year into research and development of cleaner fuels”. While McCain on the other hand has a program “mostly in the form of nuclear plant construction”, where “ultimately 55 more” plants will be built nationwide. I especially enjoyed your use of how John McCain supporters handed out tire pressure gauges of “Obama’s Energy Plan”. This comment makes for a witty approach towards a serious political subject therefore making the blog more enjoyable to read. Your choice of direct wording allows the reader to clearly understand Obama and McCain’s environmental plans for the future. While researching the blogosphere I found that many blogs smoothed over their direct plans making it difficult for the reader to decipher which candidate planned for what. Although I agree with you in that Obama’s choices are the better of the two, I would have liked to have seen you elaborate on how his plans are “optimistic” and problems beyond picking the “wrong technology”. With McCain, you go into the deeper problems of nuclear plants such as regulation, radioactive waste, and safety yet only discussing these problems on a surface level. I especially liked how you mention that Congress has also “made some headway in the past two years” towards a more environmentally conscious future. It is extremely important for Congress to support these policies in order for any president to have effective environmental policies. Overall I really enjoyed reading your blog and can see how Obama would be the better pick given his goals of investing in finding and developing more sustainable forms of cleaner fuels.