Sustainability now mainstream but not significant issue for voters

As Election Day nears, students reflect on whether the issue of sustainability will have a large impact on voter choice and how the presidential candidates will fare.

Some argue that with an increase in the environmental effects on the economy and an increasing push to “go green,” sustainability issues like energy policy and climate change resonate more strongly in many voters’ minds.

Luchino Castagno, coordinator for the UCLA Education for Sustainable Living Program, said he believes the issue of sustainability has been getting more widespread attention.

“Being green has become trendy, both from an individual choice in how people live their lives and an economic choice based on, for example, the rise in gas prices,” he said.

“It has pushed a lot of people to consider buying hybrid vehicles or to use public transportation more often.”

Sen. McCain’s campaign Web site highlights the presidential candidate’s proposal to expand domestic oil and natural gas exploration and production, reducing foreign oil dependence and addressing climate change by setting a cap-and-trade system which would limit gfreenhouse gas emissions.

It also proposes exploration of alternative sources of energy such as clean coal technologies and nuclear energy.

Sen. Obama’s campaign Web site delineates his plan to eliminate dependence on foreign oil, to address climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent in 2050, to invest in sources of alternative sources of energy for energy efficiency and to create millions of new “green” jobs.

The candidates also addressed the issue of sustainability during the third presidential debate on Oct. 15.

Sen. McCain emphasized that he wanted to reduce the nation’s dependence on foreign oil by increasing offshore drilling and employing clean coal technology, while Sen. Obama spoke about putting more resources into solar, wind, biodiesel and geothermal sources of energy.

Castagno said he believes that though both of the presidential candidates are approaching the issue, Obama is more progressive in wanting to pursue renewable energy technologies, and this will affect his choice of candidate.

“For me, that certainly has an impact on who I’m going to vote for, and it will certainly have an impact in voters’ minds who feel the price at the pump,” he said.

Along with pursuing alternative energy, he said the economy is a driving factor in peoples’ decisions.

But others believe that issues of sustainability do not have as big of an impact on the presidential election.

Victor Weisberg, a third-year environmental science student and member of a campus sustainability group called E3 ““ Ecology, Economy and Equity, said he believes the choice of candidates indicates that sustainability is not on the top of the public’s priority list.

“I definitely think that the candidates we have now have sustainability plans, but if sustainability was a bigger issue, we’d have picked candidates who have a more comprehensive development plan,” he said.

Jonathan Shapiro, a fourth-year economics student, said he believes the candidates are focusing primarily on other issues which are immediately affecting Americans such as the economy, health care and foreign policy.

“The general public cares about sustainability, but it’s not really up there on their priority list,” he said.

Richard Frank, executive director of the California Center for Environmental Law and Policy at the UC Berkeley Law School, said issues of environment and sustainability played bigger parts in the presidential campaign before the recent economic crisis occurred.

“As a result of the crisis, these sustainability issues have largely moved off of the front page and off of the voters’ radar screens,” he said.

However, the one exception to this is the issue of energy policy, Frank said.

He said he believes this has largely been a result of McCain’s campaign keeping this issue on the agenda.

Frank said while Obama’s campaign has focused on developing renewable sources of energy such as wind and solar power, McCain’s campaign has largely focused on expanded drilling for crude oil and increased reliance on nuclear power.

But both have supported the idea of federal climate change legislation, Frank said.

Shapiro said he believes the candidates are targeting energy policy because it has a connection to the economy.

“Energy policy has more tangible benefits for people, and that’s why we’re talking about it in the debates,” Shapiro said.

Frank said the economy and energy tie together in a number of ways and said that he believes dependence on foreign oil supplies is an endemic part of the nation’s long-term economic problems.

He said he believes rising gas prices have an impact on consumer and voter behavior and also industry practices.

Tracy Sachs, a fourth-year anthropology student, said she believes the candidates’ stances on energy policy are not drastically different, and she does not agree with either of them.

She said she believes McCain would want to drill for oil, while Obama supports nuclear and coal energy.

“They’re both unsustainable and horrible solutions,” she said. “We have all the technology for clean energy but neither of these candidates has solutions.”

But Castagno said he believes there is more of a widespread public understanding that pursuing clean and renewable energy can be more cost-effective, reduce air pollution and help the economy.

“An increase from $55 billion to $75 billion in the global wind and biofuels sectors of the economy in the last year accounts for more political awareness concerning alternative energy,” he said.

Weisberg said he believes sustainability will be a bigger issue in the future.

“The latest science is coming out that global warming is really happening, and planet change is really happening,” he said.

“The candidates can’t hide from this fact, and if you interview them, they have to come up with a response because they know it is part of their job now to know about this issue.”

Luis Munoz, a third-year electrical engineering student, said he believes the younger generation of voters will play a large role in the future of sustainability.

“We are the future, and our vision of the future is one of sustainable energy, so we’re going to push for it hard,” he said.

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