Tonight I had the opportunity to sit in on a Q & A session with our congressmen Tim Johnson (represents Central Illinois). Several questions were asked about our current economic environment. He pretty much responded with the fact that our economic state is NOT getting any better, and nothing is really going on to do much about it, it seemed like. His thoughts were that he would not see a significant change in his lifetime, but our generation would certainly see the negative result or impact of our current state.
I got the opportunity to ask a question and because of this class I asked something along the lines of, "Concerning the environment, we are very dependent on fossil fuels. Why do you think our government pushes to continually depend on such resources and even resort to things like "fracking" which is potentially harming our citizens opposed to using technology to promote renewable energy?"
He responded with- I am only the only "Green" republican congressmen and this is very important to me He said fracking was a great example, but then said he didn't really know too much about it. (Surprised?!).
I then explained to him that it was just on the news tonight and they were saying how great fracking is and it promotes jobs, and right at the end they say "oh and it potentially contaminates citizens water"
He just said I was right and it was concerning to him. Either way, no matter your stance on government- after this presentation, it makes one pretty cynical! I was very surprised but then again not surprised on his answers.
What do you guys think this means for our future and specifically for our reliance on fossil fuels? Do you think we will ever see a change?
Being that my hometown is located in Central Illinois, I’ve had the opportunity to talk with both Congressman Johnson and other members of his staff several times. Although he is a Republican, it seems that Congressman Johnson does seem to deeply care about our environment and where we are headed with fossil fuels. I can remember going to a town hall meeting that he put on in which he specifically mentioned how it was important to promote the continued development of wind farms in Illinois.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, it doesn’t surprise me that Congressman Johnson wasn’t too familiar with the problem that “fracking” presents. Considering the fact that hydraulic fracturing continues to gain popularity in our country, it’s amazing that an elected official doesn’t know more about it. This is just one example of how our federal government continues to ignore the environmental issues that our generation faces. I found it especially interesting that Congressman Johnson admitted that his generation wouldn’t see the dramatic effects of our current economic and/or environmental state but that our generation would be forced to deal with it. It’s important that we start promoting government leaders that not only think about the present but also what the future holds.
Yes, I agree with what you are saying that politicians should be more mindful of the future! And yes, he did note that he is environmentally conscious, and that there are several examples of wind energy in central Illinois. But, with that he said that his office gets several complaints about the wind energy. It is loud, "ugly", etc. So, we can see the two sides to all issues.
ReplyDeleteGreat discussion here! I am so glad you both got the opportunity to talk with rep. Johnson. he's holding town halls and meeting with the public which he actually does by making 100 calls a day on his cell phone mostly from Lincoln Square Mall (NPR http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129940293) He has opposition from his own party this primary season and his district has changed to include more liberal leaning constituents from the 15th to the 13th--it will be interesting to watch this race. That all said, it is really not that odd that a congressperson would not know much about fracking if it is not happening in his area of representation. Also, as we have read in Orr, our representatives do not have much scientific literacy. Johnson gets much of his money form the sugar industry--thus it is pretty safe for him to be "green" as he calls himself--against Anwar, etc...
ReplyDeleteWhile his answers seem extremely vague and poor, I am not very surprised. It seems today that politicians act like they care about the environment, then make empty promises of how they will help. The attitudes of our politicians are disturbing when it comes to becoming a more sustainable environment. Over the past decades, we have known that we will soon run out of fossil fuels and will no longer be able to continue this way of life. I believe that as a nation, we will continue to rely on fossil fuels until change is 100% necessary or until we run out. The use of fossil fuels and alternative energy with regard to our environment should be a bigger political issue in Washington than it currently is. I am not surprised that the Congressman knew very little about “fracking” and its process. It continues to disappoint me that Congress is doing very little and is still paying little attention to the issue of becoming a more sustainable country.
ReplyDeleteThis is one of the most furstrating things, in my mind, that politicians do when it comes to public policy. He stated he is the only "green" republican however does not know enough on fracking to even remotely answer your question without cynicism. I think that we need to investing in creative and innovative alternatives to things such as fracking. These short term answers of creating jobs is a good thing, however we need to look at the long run. While we are creating jobs for us now, we are taking away from the future for our posterity. If we keep living the way we do, eventually jobs will be the least of our problems, as we run out of valuable resources such as fossil fuels and water.
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