"Confronting growing concerns over high energy prices, President Bush on Wednesday unveiled controversial plans to spur construction of new nuclear power plants, provide incentives to buy diesel vehicles and most novel of all: use some old military bases for oil refineries."
I'm always derided by other liberals for not being as pro-environment as they are, or even anti-environment. I find that to be a mischaracterization of my position on the environment. I am very pro-environment, and compared to the majority of the Republican party leadership, I am practically Greenpeace and PETA all rolled into one. But, as far as protecting all areas of wilderness from development, and as far as holding back nuclear power from being developed and some other environmental issues I find that there is a middle ground that can be taken. I am a moderate on the environment. It may be the issue where I am most moderate in my position. I do find current policy toward the environment to be poorly thought out and executed but there is a lack of awareness of issues by the general public, and that blame falls squarely on the media.
As far as Bush's plan goes, the Sierra Club and various other environmental groups have spoken against it. I find that to be a bit reactionary, because as Bush's policy proposals go, this one is very dead on. Yeah, I know nuclear energy has safety concerns and there is always the question of what to do with the waste, but in general, nuclear plants have worked out well for America. My favorite part of the proposal though, besides the diesel promotion, is the conversion of closed military bases to refineries. Being a Californian, we have seen more than our fair share of these closures. It pains me to see them sit idle in a state where property values are so high and usable land so scarce. There is the huge issue of housing, and converting bases to housing seems a good alternative. That is, until you factor in cleanup costs. By placing the majority of the burden of cleanup on the private sector and solving the problem of not having enough refineries in the U.S. to produce for our ever growing population is a winner to me. This can promote new job growth, jobs that pay well at that. And, California stands to see the majority of this development. For once, I stand with W here.
