As Election Day approaches, the widening cracks in the economy are receiving more and more attention as other issues are taking lower priorities.
Anti-nuclear activist Helen Caldicott encouraged people to “turn the media around” and demand coverage on facts about global warming and nuclear power at the First Congregational Church of Long Beach Sunday.
Caldicott said presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain have addressed the issue of nuclear power only once or twice.
“They didn’t cover global warming as much as I would like,” said Zeid Nesheiwat, a freshman biology major, “just some plans on how to help ease global warming.”
“I don’t think they’re saying enough about [the environment], but I think Obama covered it better. I think they could both do a lot better. I’d like to hear an exact plan,” said Leah Hodgins, a sophomore criminal justice major.
One student defended the candidate’s prioritizing of issues.
“I think [environmental issues are] not really the main focus right now because there are more important things, like health care and the war in Iraq,” said Jordan Sadler, senior sociology major. “I think they should cover like, cars or fuel, you know. We need to focus on alternative fuel sources and stuff, and they’re not really doing that right now.”
In the second presidential debate, one audience member asked the candidates how they would make Congress act on environmental issues as quickly as it did on the economic crisis.
Sen. McCain responded first, saying he has traveled the globe and seen the effects of greenhouse gases, and does not want to pass on a “damaged planet” to our children. He said he spurred discussion on environmental issues by encouraging the passing of legislation on greenhouse gas emissions. That initial legislation failed, but Sen. McCain said it started the debate on the effects of greenhouse gases.
“What’s the best way of fixing it? Nuclear power,” Sen. McCain said. “I know that we can reprocess the spent nuclear fuel. The Japanese, the British, the French do it. And we can do it, too. Sen. Obama has opposed that.”
Sen. Obama began his response saying, “This is one of the biggest challenges of our times.”
He went on to say he would invest in solar, wind and geothermal energy.
“Contrary to what Sen. McCain keeps on saying, I favor nuclear power as one component of our overall energy mix,” Sen. Obama said.
Sen. Obama closed his response with an emphasis on the need for alternative energy sources. “We can’t simply drill our way out of the problem,” Sen. Obama said.
On Sunday, Caldicott urged the audience to address environmental issues by “becom[ing] totally aware of how you live.” She urged people to install solar panels on their homes, hang dry their laundry on clotheslines and find alternatives to using coal.
“It’s up to this country and its wisdom to save this planet,” she said.
Caldicott addressed the issues confronting the future of life on earth and began her lecture with the perils of global warming.
Deforestation and the melting of the Arctic contribute to climate change because trees absorb carbon dioxide and emit oxygen back into the atmosphere, and ice sheets reflect the sun’s rays while the ocean absorbs heat.
As the ocean heats, the permafrost, soil at or below the freezing point of water, melts. The thawing of the permafrost causes trees to fall and previously trapped organic matter to decompose, which releases millions of tons of methane, a greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere.
Humans live in a “chemical soup,” Caldicott said. Many man-made products such as plastic bottles and tephlon-lined pans contain chemical toxins that stimulate cancer cells.
Caldicott emphasized the threat to humanity with the 30,000 nuclear weapons existing in the world today. Ships carrying nuclear weapons arrive in nearby ports, information of which she said, the “military has no right to keep you in ignorance.”
Nuclear power continues to emit radiation into the environment, causing acute radiation sickness, such as cancer and birth defects. Nuclear power induces global warming because the making and transporting of nuclear power depends on the use of fossil fuels.