Environment-conscious community members got the chance Thursday to pick the brain of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s senior environmental advisor.
Climate researcher Dan Kammen, also a contributor to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, fielded questions from about 50 attendees in the EMU’s Mills International Center. Topics ranged from biofuel to carbon emissions to the resulting economic impacts. On all accounts, Kammen pointed to Obama as the right person to address those problems and make up for lost time.
“We have squandered away so many years of time, we have to essentially hit a home run in our first time at the plate,” Kammen said.
Several questions centered around topics closely related to the Northwest.
On the subject of biofuels, Kammen said there is a misconception of the products’ effect on food prices. Though he acknowledged that corn is an inefficient product from which to produce biofuel, Kammen said the fuels have had little, if anything, to do with rising food prices. The reason, he said, has more to do with rising costs of production and fossil fuels.
“That doesn’t mean this can’t be a conflict in the future, but it actually hasn’t happened yet,” he said.
Some economists have said the increased popularity of biofuels has driven up demand for corn and wheat to levels farms can’t keep pace with, contributing the jump in prices.
Kammen said Obama supports the use of biofuels that could be produced more efficiently with other materials. Two possibilities are urban waste and algae, he said.
“There are some emerging biofuels that have potential – not proven, but have potential,” Kammen said.
In an interview, Kammen said Oregon is among the nation’s leaders in environmental awareness. He praised wind farms near the Washington-Oregon border as an example other states could follow in reducing dependence on fossil fuels.
“Clean energy-wise, (Oregon is) near the very top,” he said.
Despite lingering concerns, Kammen said he’s been encouraged by the number of climate initiatives proposed in Congress during recent years. The problem, he said, is that legislators haven’t received more support from the White House. Kammen criticized President George W. Bush’s environmental policy, including his announcement Wednesday that the U.S. will target stopping the growth of greenhouse gas emissions by 2025. Obama’s plan, Kammen said, calls for reducing emissions by 80 percent before 2050.
University student David Rottenberg, campus coordinator of Students for Barack Obama, said the group first found out about the event from Obama’s campaign staff Monday. He said he was pleased with Thursday’s discussion, given the short amount of time to prepare for it.
“I think it’s extremely important because we are such an environmentally active campus,” Rottenberg said. “Now that we are in the primary spotlight here, it’s exciting to bring a senior advisor who can talk about an issue that’s important to a lot of people here.”
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