Environmental Perspectives

Good points Dave and Rachel! I agree with your categorizations: Senator McCain – market liberal, Senator Obama – institutionalist. As Rachel mentioned, it can be difficult to fit the candidates into a specific category since some of their platforms have more than one focus. According to Clapp and Dauvergne, neither market liberals nor institutionalists believe that we are “officially” experiencing a global environmental crisis. To me, this suggests that market liberals and institutionalists question the merits of environmental change such as global warming, which doesn’t seem to be the case for either candidate.

One of the main instruments of liberalism is international institutions, so it’s not surprising that Obama wants to re-engage with the UN on climate change issues. Although McCain also states that he will “actively engage to lead UN negotiations,” Obama is more specific. For example, Obama states that he will focus on working with institutions such as the UNFCC and ultimately create a Global Energy Forum.

McCain’s focus seems to shift out of the international arena. He claims that economic growth domestically will help to improve the environment by implementing such policies as “Cap-and-Trade.” According to his website, “Cap-and-Trade harnesses human ingenuity in the pursuit of alternatives to carbon-based fuels.” Such policy highlights his focus on economics through promise of financial incentives: if you participate in this program and invent a way to reduce emissions, you can “sell [your] extra permits for cash.”

Overall, it appears that Senator Obama is more environmentally-oriented. Obama’s focus is on sustainability and global environmental cooperation: to borrow from Hardin, instruments necessary to save our global commons. One final thought -- Obama and Biden currently co-sponsor the Global Warming Pollution Reduction Act, a bill to amend the clean air act and reduce emissions of carbon dioxide. What do you think about the bill? Link to the summary is here: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s110-309 .

See you in class!