THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
PAGE 4A
opinion
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The best thing about Wednesday is the chocolate chip pancakes in Murphy Hall.
FFA OF THE DAY Who in the world roots for Mario over Luigi? The year of Luigi never ends. Fact.
Apparently ping pong and boxing take precedence over soccer at the rec's ONLY soccer court. Tweet #LetMyCourtGo if you disagree with this policy!
If you need help eating the candy your mom gave you, I'll be glad to help.
Serial sharter, comin' at ya live from the Dole bathroom
The whole team is to blame for that loss. No sense in getting mad at the one person who almost made up for everyone else's bad game.
I wanna live in the '80's too!
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2015
Noo Great Mall stay
open forever. 'I'
At this point in my life, everyone annoys me.
How long till potatoes go bad?
And they are just whole potatoes,
not cooked or anything.
Editor's Note:
http://bit.tv/1Bo7LVe
Is Jake from the Underground single? Because I have to keep buying water every time he works cuz he makes me so thirsty.
Dots aren't the worse candy.
Dots make my tummy happy.
Now I want Dots.
I always forget things that I need at the grocery too! You're not alone.
Alright if it could be summer now, that'd be awesome.
I CAN'T WAIT FOR HOUSE OF CARDS TO RETURN!! Yayayayay.
I switched from being a coffee addict to being a tea addict and I've got to say it feels pretty good! No more 5 p.m. crashes for me.
I think the new Ghostbusters will be awesome! hello, hilarious girls and ghosts? what else could you ask for?!
Is "boss" a career path because that's all I want to be
My mom scolded me for waiting until the last minute to turn in an application and I'm like "tol you think you raised a rational human"
Week 5 of classes and I'm slowly struggling'.
Obama not strong enough on environment
Gabrielle Murnan
@GabrielleKansan
This week, President Obama spoke at Georgetown University to unveil his administration's plans to combat climate change, which include regulation of coal plants, building sea walls for defense against rising sea levels and energy efficiency for residences and commercial buildings.
SUSANNE POSEL/ASSOCIATED PRESS
In a speech at Georgetown University on June 25, 2013, President Barack Obama said, "I refuse to condemn your generation and future generations to a planet that's beyond fixing." The president's track record on addressing environmental issues such as mining, alternative energy production and climate change is arguably the best of any president.
However, a few of the president's policy decisions regarding energy production seem contradictory to his pro-environment rhetoric. Over the past few years, citizens have watched an awkward dance between the president and energy regulation.
The administration's recent move to allow offshore drilling on the southern Atlantic coast but restrict drilling in areas of Alaska was a slap to the face followed by a warm towelette to the forehead. This decision places the southern Atlantic coast at risk of disastrous oil spills and continues the production of a finite, earth-destroying resource.
In a time of environmental uncertainty, President Obama has a responsibility to our citizens and the world to consistently and aggressively pursue alternative energies, not increase production of oil and natural gas. There is no time for "one step forward, two steps back" politics.
During the president's tenure, the United States has moved from the world's seventh largest exporter of coal to the fourth. This can be attributed to the fact that the Bureau of Land Management leases federal lands to energy producers and has been doing so for decades. In fact, 40 percent of America's coal comes from federally leased lands. The contradiction between this fact and President Obama's Climate Action Plan, aimed at decreasing greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fired power plants, is almost too much for my environmentalist heart to bear. Although the president
had no part in allowing the use of federal lands for mining, his Climate Action Plan fails to solve the discrepancy between lowering emissions and the federal government selling coal contracts.
The White House's irresolute All-of-the-Above Energy Strategy indicates that the administration values all energy production methods equally. President Obama follows a why-not philosophy of energy politics. Why not continue drilling for oil and pursue wind and solar energies at the same time? Why not continue fracking and also increase research on geothermal energy? The plan is nice rhetoric for a
spiffy infographic and snazzy speech, but the message is clear: Oil and natural gas are here to stay. The problem with this philosophy is there are a lot of reasons not to.
Climate change is the foremost reason. We can't talk about emission reduction plans and climate agreements unless we get serious about alternative energy in our own country.
The Obama administration speaks of balance when it comes to the environment and business. However, there can be no economic balance when there is no environmental balance. When the earth's natural systems are
thrown off, so is our economy.
I fear our domestic policies will thwart any climate action progress made so far with China and India. How can we ask the world to help us mitigate climate change if we are aggressively ramping up our oil and natural gas production? It is time the awkward dance between President Obama and the environment ends. President Obama needs some dance lessons, and he needs them quickly.
Gabrielle Murnan is a junior from Pittsburg studying environmental studies and political science
JAYHAWKS ON THE BOULEVARD
DO YOU THINK PRESIDENT OBAMA IS A STRONG ADVOCATE FOR THE ENVIRONMENT?
ALEX PETERSON
SENIOR FROM WICHITA
STUDYING ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES
"I think he is an advocate for the environment. I wouldn't go so far as to say he is a particularly strong advocate. I can tell in his mannersism and the way that he portrays his message that he really does care, but it is an unfortunate reality that environmental issues tend to take the back burner when you are dealing with international policy and domestic issues. So sometimes environmental issues can tend to seem a little less important or pressing."
HENRY REED
SENIOR FROM TOPEKA
STUDYING POLITICAL SCIENCE
"I think Barack Obama walks a fine line between being an advocate and being a centerpiece. He likes to talk about the environment, but can't really do anything about the environment."
SAMUEL LOBBY
GRADUATE STUDENT FROM MINNEAPOLIS, MINN
STUDYING GEOGRAPHY AND URBAN PLANNING
"I think under the circumstances of the GOP majority and public consensus within the United States, President Obama is doing an adequate job being an environmental advocate. I think that he has constraints and he is working within those constraints in a pragmatic way."
"That's a tough question to ask. I think in a lot of ways he is. He has kind of set a precedent, especially compared to the previous administration. But at the same time I think a lot of environmentalists feel let down, like there is more that he could have done. In some ways I feel that that is the case, but you also have to take into consideration the political climate and how divided things are right now. I like to think he is doing what he can, but more really needs to be done."
JESSIE PRINGLE
JUNIOR FROM CHANUTE
STUDYING HISTORY
What's wrong with millennials? They are lazy, selfish, wasteful
Sebastian Schoneich
@ThingsSebiThink
Dryers consume an insane amount of energy. The EPA
energy. The EPA reports dryers use more energy than refrigerators, washing machines and dishwashers in the average household. Among those major household appliances, dryers account for one-third of their combined energy consumptions.
In the U.S., laziness is glorified by the dryer culture. Instead of taking five minutes to hang up laundry and let it dry efficiently (not consuming a single kWh of energy), most everyone chooses to chuck it in the dryer — where the energy consumption stats knock the wind out of you.
I can't stand dryers. I wish they didn't exist. But it's not merely because of their energy consumption stats: I have a problem with laziness.
This laziness is a problem that especially defines Generations Y, Z and Alpha, after the Baby Boomers and Generation X. We've grown up in a culture that has forgotten a lot of old values: not being wasteful, not being selfish, caring about the way things are done, etc.
These values are evident in everyday language. "We need to reduce waste", implies we waste too much, which we most certainly do. We can also order food while hardly having to interact with other humans.
highlighting the fact that we have become far too individualistic, directing our concerns mostly onto ourselves. Wanting life to be easy is a common sentiment — among younger generations specifically — that indicates we tend to prefer whatever choice renders our lives easier, despite the consequences environmental, social global, etc.
I can't stand that people don't think about these things anymore. I'm convinced if you spend 10 minutes thinking about your habits, you can figure out several ways in which you can improve your impact on society and the environment. This could make a huge difference for you, others and the planet.
We should think about the kind of general mindset we want to have and focus on having the mindset of a caring human being. This can be even more productive than paying attention only to a few small habits in your daily life.Instead of resolving to start recycling your cardboard from now on, resolve to be less wasteful in general.
Don't let yourself fall into the category of thoughtless people who justify their actions by how their lives are rendered easier — instead, hang your clothes and contribute to the making of a better world.
Sebastian Schoneich is a senior from Lawrence studying biochemistry and philosophy
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THE KANSAN EDITORIAL BOARD
Members of the Kansan Editorial Board are Brian Hillix, Paige Lytle, Cecilia Cho, Stephane Bickel and Sharix Hu.