Obama owes us an apology.
The announcement to initiate domestic offshore drilling not only destroys the environmental progress we’ve made in Congress — it’s a sheer travesty in the American campaign process at large. Sure, politicians need to compromise parts of their agenda, but oil drilling? Really?
Obama promised us change. He just brought us health care. But what’s a public option in 2026 going to do when tsunamis and hurricanes prompted by ever-rising carbon dioxide levels are drowning us?
We have an addiction to foreign oil that threatens both our economy and our national security, but ruining our domestic communities, both urban and wild, is not the solution.
Economists and environmentalists have argued tirelessly for green jobs and renewable energy projects to work together. We were on the brink of progress last year until yet another climate reform bill was squashed.
Obama is a politician. And politicians sometimes make promises they can’t keep. But this is a downright slap in the face.
We need to step up.
One thing I’ve started to realize when I’ve traveled outside our borders is that I’m not ashamed to be an American. You shouldn’t be either. It was not your decision to let the stars and stripes wave in the wind while bombs blow up innocent women and children in the Middle East. You are not responsible for actions committed by those in power. But you are responsible for carbon dioxide in the atmosphere when your children — and your children’s children — are trying to get an education in tsunami-flooded classrooms in 30 years.
As a country, we have an enormous impact. We also can have an enormous influence.
That’s where you come in.
So our politicians want to let the oil lobbyists bully them around? So what. There has never been a more vital time where those with a passion for environmental justice can spread positive ideals. But note: There are three components of environmentalism that can make or break your case.
Get educated
There are thousands of oil company-hired skeptics out there blowing smoke. If you go to Washington, D.C., the government buildings are historic and beautiful, but guess which private buildings showcase the most royal of granite floors?
The lobbyist buildings are built for success. Each and every day, thousands of big-oil advocates stroll through Congress trying to squash progressive bills not in their interest. And why wouldn’t they? Business isn’t going anywhere. And neither is its political influence in Washington. But one rule will continue to stay the same.
Have you ever heard the phrase, “He who has the gold makes the rules”? Well, it’s more true than ever in 2010. And right now, the old, tired ideas of the past are losing their momentum. This country — and the rest of the world — are asking for something new. So go out there and prepare yourself to make the clean energy ideas of the future a reality.
Put your money where your mouth is
When I sat down last Friday with Michael Nixon, owner of the Wandering Goat Coffee Company, he summed up consumer choices with some of his first-hand experience.
“We’re never going to reach some eco-utopian fantasy where we have absolutely no impact,” he said. “But what we can do is support choices that are economically, ecologically and culturally sustainable.”
You vote with your dollar. Every time you support a local, ethical business that uses environmentally sound practices, you’re supporting a movement much larger than drinking water out of your SIGG bottle. Consumer choices are a powerful political statement, and there’s no place with more options than Eugene.
WinCo or Sundance? American Apparel or Buffalo Exchange? I know, I know. You think your pockets aren’t deep enough to save the trees. Well, recycled clothing is certainly cheaper. And food? WinCo might have a “value” size ground-beef package, but last time I checked the United States has an obesity epidemic. Is three pounds of beef really a better investment than one natural, free-range pound for the same price? If you cut your food consumption by a third (which often will still leave you above the recommended serving size), you can eat healthier and more sustainably.

Lead by example
Sorry, but no one listens to the militant vegan or fixed-gear biker who wears it on their sleeve. Riding your bike to school and eating organic produce is awesome, but remember to show, not tell. This is really important at the local level, but is increasingly becoming more important at the national one, too.
America is already behind on dominating the clean-energy market. India is moving citizens to sunny states such as Arizona and Nevada every month to get ahead of the solar energy eight-ball. We have an unemployment problem and environmental problem that needs some attention. The sooner environmentalists, business entrepreneurs and politicians at local, state and national levels start working together, the cleaner — and greener — our children’s world will be. 

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