Monday, February 4, 2008
I’ve always criticized Bush and his administration, and I’ve always disliked Bush when it came to the environment.
I knew even in 2000, the first year I could vote, to not vote for Bush.
nutgraf
Whether the sonar hurts one animal or several seems unimportant because hurting just one species can cause enough damage to affect the world.
I knew I would not agree with his policies especially when it came to the environment. So why am I surprised he voted to exempt the Navy from environmental laws in California?
I’m not surprised that he voted with the Navy. His decision was to let the Navy continue using sonar devices in order to detect foreign submarines, which Bush stated was a matter of national security.
Instead of using the courts to reverse their previous ruling, Bush went above the courts and waived their rulings.
Even though Bush made this ruling, it was still up to the courts to decide what the Navy could and couldn’t do. The court made a ruling that lifted some of the Navy’s previous limitations on sonar training, but the court did not lift them all, as Bush would’ve done.
Many scientists believe that high-frequency sonar can cause hearing and brain damage in marine mammals. But there is also evidence that not all species of marine mammals are affected by the sonar. Whether the sonar hurts one animal or several seems unimportant because hurting just one species can cause enough damage to affect the world.
This is where the issue becomes personal. My generation cares about the environment, and when I talk to my peers, I find this to be true, but they still aren’t sure how to get involved.
By watching and learning from Bush and his administration’s actions, we can learn how we don’t want our government run and what we want our future government to do instead.
I believe my generation is full of environmentalists. We are animal-lovers, but we just aren’t sure what to do about it.
This issue hits home for me because I had a favorite animal growing up, killer whales. “Free Willy” may have had some part in my obsession with them.
But this of course led to me loving other types of whales and of course, dolphins.
I love all animals. Even the slimy ones.
I own a four and a half year-old pug named Onyx, who has cost me a lot of money. But I’ve always known I could never live without at least one animal in my life.
And my generation relates to this, which is why the whole Michael Vick thing became such major national news — because it upset my generation.
The best action we can take as a generation is to listen and to be informed, especially with upcoming elections.
The more knowledge we have of where each candidate stands in regard to the environment, then the easier it will be to make the right choice.
But should we choose wrongly, for we all know how deceptive politicians can be, then again the more knowledge we have of what our government is doing, the more we can hold them accountable, and possibly make a difference and save our environment.
Earles is an Olathe senior in journalism.
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