Issue 2013: Going Green

by Asia Williams

I believe that it is obvious that our abuse of the environment and its natural resources is a definite priority on the list of problems we face in 2013. From little things like forgetting to unplug your hair dryer after use (it doesn’t matter if it is turned off; if it’s still plugged in you are in fact still wasting electricity) to discarding and littering a bottle of water, 3 feet on the ground from a convenient recycling bin, we have become oblivious and unaware the of how important the environment is to us and therefore how many precautions we need to take in order to keep the privilege of using it.

One of the ways we naturally maltreat the environment is our unhealthy dependency on oil. We are literally the “oil economy” and go through critical lengths to secure our status as our economy doesn’t know how to properly function in its absence. Oil is literally one of the most important factors that ensures our economic health but because we are so used to having it around (and tons of it) we tend to go through supplies carelessly thinking that we can never run out. In reality we are low in oil and are so desperate for it that we put ourselves in position where we’re not only going to run out sooner or later but we feel that it is ok to start randomly drilling where we are not permitted or where it’s not safe.

New oil is harder to find, takes longer to develop and requires a lot more capital. Companies like Shell Oil on the other hand continue to push their limits and drill for oil in places like the Artic which has already lost 75% of its ice by volume since the National Snow and Ice Data Center started recording this info back in 1979. Reduced Arctic sea connects to a warmer planet and thus a change in climate patterns and people tend to push aside such thoughts, ignoring them because we evidently we don’t see how much this effects not only us but our entire world. We are at risks because people don’t see the long term effects of the over use of oil because in many ways it will be a while till it has an impact on us individually and because of that gap of time we think it’s ok and just not that serious enough that we can’t just wait till another time to deal with it. But we can’t keep pushing this issue back.

When is enough going to be enough? I know I can’t just simply ask people to throw their beliefs, routines and ways of daily living out the window but we need to start somewhere and make some kind of commitment to actually acknowledging that we things are getting worse. We may become the largest oil producer in 2013, the Arctic sea ice reached its lowest level in recorded history and Shell plans to give drilling another go this year. 

Issue 2013: New Year: Let’s Hit the Reset Button

by Diana Zhao

Everyone wishes that there is a reset button so that they could clear the mistakes they’ve made in the past and start a new life in a new year. It should be the same with the Congress and the President. However, the ball dropped down from the top of the Times Square Building doesn’t crush the issues they faced in 2012. They still have to deal with the existing issues and problems while preparing for more in the upcoming year.

2012 has been a tough year for the nation, with Hurricane Sandy, the shooting massacre in Connecticut, newly-issued fiscal policy, partisanship in Congress and many other remaining problems from the previous year. It’s certainly impossible to fix all in merely one year, but we can always wish for better.

1.     Disaster Response

The sudden visit of Hurricane Sandy alarmed people about the inefficiency and the lack of preparation of the government for natural disasters. Even though the hurricane has passed long ago and the remaining issue is the aftermath remedy, the government still has to work on the immediate after-disaster response, backup power and water sources, and infrastructure repair. Also, people who live in the possibly affected areas should get confirmed official warnings or even organized evacuations from local government long before the storm. There would have been less devastation if the news had talked about it more.

2.     Gun Control

The terrible shooting massacre at Newtown, Connecticut, is another tragedy of the long-existing gun issue. Congress really should work out a more strict control policy in 2013, like limiting the kinds of guns, numbers of bullets, and enforcing buying registrations. When people purchase guns, there should be a registration so that the government could track the where every piece goes. However, personal sales at gun shows and black markets have always been problematic. I don't have suggestions on this because it's hard to balance between enough background checks and gun purchase trace, and privacy protection. I wish Congress would have some law worked out. As an international student from China, I myself lived 18 years in a country without legal guns in life and I feel perfectly fine. The right to hold a gun has been part of the American experience from the very start of the nation. That’s why it’s been a very problematic issue for so many years.

3.     Environment

Issues regarding the environment and energy will be a long-term topic in the Congressional discussion. Clean energy development and efficiency improvement are definitely the way out, but the Congress needs to put pressure on specialized agencies to get it going. Simply importing intermediate goods from developing countries and leaving the “dirty” work to them is not, and never will be, the solution.