Power to the People: Dennis, Anyone?
Dennis Kucinich is the candidate who is, ostensibly, to the left, of all the other 18 candidates officially in the race to be the next President of the United States.
Given that context, I wondered:
- How will his environmental beliefs resonate with mainstream America?
- What are his views about renewable energy?
- Does he have a realistic plan for energy independence for America?
Let’s explore the answers to those questions.
First, a short bio. Dennis Kucinich is a Democratic Congressman representing Ohio’s 10th Congressional District (a/k/a Cleveland). He is in his 6th term, having been elected in 1996. He previously served as Mayor of Cleveland and was the youngest mayor of a major American city when he was elected at age 31. Kucinich is married to a British citizen, Elizabeth Harper, and he has a daughter from a previous marriage. Kucinich first ran for President in 2004. While he did not win any primary contests, he did win 40 delegates to the Democratic National Convention. Fast forward to December 11, 2006. Kucinich announced his intention to run for the Democratic Nomination in 2008.
So like all candidates running for President, Kucinich visited New Hampshire to meet with voters and to share his views and plans for America. In April of this year, Kucinich came to New Hampshire and was interviewed by ‘uncommitted New Hampshire voters’ at the WMUR-TV ‘Conversation with a Candidate’ television program. Questioned by this writer about clean energy, Kucinich stated, “I am a true environmentalist. In 2003, I put forth a national plan for the United States to use 20% Clean Energy by the year 2010. I strongly support any and all genuine and truly renewable non-polluting forms of energy.” Ok, so far, so good!
While the format at WMUR-TV did not actually allow for in-depth follow up questions, I did get the opportunity to interview the Congressman, in August, at his campaign headquarters in Dover, NH. There, in the presence of his wife, he gave me a lengthy and detailed audio interview for the SmartPower blog.
While Kucinich appears to be a mild-mannered man, his passion for the environment is evident and very strong. When I asked him the role that clean energy would play in his administration his answer was direct – “Clean energy will play the central role in my energy plan! How will that happen? I plan to create a Works Green Administration, which will bring clean energy to America. We will have millions of wind and solar technologies that will be retrofitted onto American homes so that everyone can produce clean energy! We will create millions of new jobs not only building these wind and solar technology applications but also installing them."
Kucinich also wants NASA to have a role in developing the clean energy technologies of the future. He favors wind and solar over all other types of renewables. And he is looking towards fuel cells to power our cars in the future. Kucinich believes that all the talk by his Democratic opponents about ‘carbon taxes’ and ‘cap and trade systems’ is just tinkering around the edges. Kucinich wants real sustainability by using real clean energy.
With respect to nuclear energy, Kucinich is adamant that it must be phased out. He has followed the nuclear movement since its infancy. The Cleveland area in the 1960’s and 1970’s was heavily involved in the forefront of the marketing of nuclear energy as a viable energy source for our future. But massive cost overruns to build these plants, their safety concerns, and the inevitable issue of nuclear waste all have to be addressed. Nuclear was sold to the American people as “energy to cheap to meter – but the reality has been it’s energy that’s too expensive to use.”
Kucinich favors a ‘Global Green Deal’ which is a plan that would have the United States lead the world in the creation and production of renewable energy and we would partner with developing countries to promote renewable energy within their borders as well.
Kucinich opposes further exploration for oil or other fossil fuels and feels that renewable energy forms can meet all of our future energy needs, but that conservation will play a major role in getting us energy independent.
His energy and environmental plans seem viable, well thought out, and, dare I say it, revolutionary! Kucinich is a very interesting candidate. He is worth a look!
Next week…… Republican Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas!
Tags: Alternative Fuels, Climate Change, climate+change, Dennis+Kucinich, Environment, global+warming, New+Hampshire, Political News, Politics, presidential+politics, Presidential+Primary, Renewable Power
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September 13th, 2007 at 3:48 pm
Thank you so much for this in-depth look at Kucinich and his stand on the environment– far superior to that of all the other candidates, as is his stand on every issue, all of which he sees as interconnected: Strength through Peace, A Sustainable Future, Securing Constitutional Democracy, Survival of the Middle Class, End to Poverty, Saving Capitalism, A Healthy Nation.
Labeling Kucinich as the furthest “left” of all 18 presidential candidates does him and our society a disservice, however. Kucinich is beyond labels; he is about a VISION of a world (not just an America)that works for everyone because he comprehends in the depths of his soul that our world is “interconnected and interdependent,” that “a sustainable future” is predicated on our understanding of “the connection between peace and the environment,” the connection between “global warring and global warming.”
In my book that does not make him a “revolutionary” or a “leftist” but a visionary evolutionist– a “PARADIGM PIONEER,” according to Margaret Wheatley, bestselling author of LEADERSHIP AND THE NEW SCIENCE.
September 13th, 2007 at 6:02 pm
Thanks for a good look at Dennis Kucinich’s proposals on clean energy. Sounds like a bright future for America but- the people will have to get behind him. The mass media treats him like the “Invisible Man” and he will not accept bribes-Oops! I mean Contributions from corporations/lobbyists/ Insurance companies etc. He depends solely on support from Us. Check him out, he’s for real!
September 13th, 2007 at 7:29 pm
I agree that labels don’t work, and especially for Dennis Kucinich. He is a Visionary of the highest regard. Sometimes I am concerned that America isn’t ready for such as him, but my fear is that if we are not, it is to our peril. Every other candidate steps away from the real issues, trying to give an answer that will be mildly appealing to the most voters. Dennis is the real deal, and he gives it to us from his heart and soul. He is right about environmental issues, peace issues, educational issues, everything! He deserves all the support we can give him.
September 13th, 2007 at 10:06 pm
Yes, Dennis! Thanks, Mike, for this appreciative glimpse of our candidate Dennis Kucinich’s vision of a sustainable society. Thanks also for the listed links at the end of the interview. Kucinich for President allows readers to study Dennis’s stands on all the issues, as cited by Carlene Brown above. That should whet the appetite for a visit to the Action Center also linked there, where a growing segment of the community of those already energized by Kucinich can connect with and/or create every kind of support group imaginable, including a Dennis for Energy group. Find out how together we will realize the vision of strength through peace.
September 13th, 2007 at 11:04 pm
Thanks for your article on Dennis Kucinich.
While his ideas on sustainable energey may still need
some work to pull it all together, Dennis is miles ahead of the other candidates, on this, and many other issues.
Dennis is the only one getting my vote in the upcoming elections.
VoteKUCINICH2008!
September 13th, 2007 at 11:05 pm
Thanks for the look at Dennis Kucinich’s Energy Ideas. I hope more people look to green energy and a president who has the insight to fix our problem. It is no longer an option for us to remain ignorant on how we produce energy. How much it cost us to burn carbon truly amazes me. Solar thermal, Photo-voltaic and wind power will get us off carbon. But Helium-3 is what will power humanity for the next 10000 years.
Thanks again
Aaron
September 13th, 2007 at 11:10 pm
Thanks for your article on Dennis Kucinich.
While his ideas on sustainable energey may still need
some work to pull it all together, Dennis is miles ahead of the other candidates, on this, and many other issues.
Dennis is the only one getting my vote in the upcoming elections.
VoteKUCINICH2008!
September 14th, 2007 at 1:10 am
Mike -
Thanks for the insightful look at Kucinich. And thanks for all your blogs. I’ve also been to the SmartPower web site — and those people seem on the ball! We need SmartPower in places all over the country telling regular people that clean energy actually works! thanks for all the work you and SmartPower are doing!
Oh, and the President of your organization is HOT!
September 14th, 2007 at 2:47 am
Thank you for this cogent, clear, and enthusiastic article, as a supporter of Dennis Kucinich, it is always great to see pieces by those who really seem to see him for the intelligent, passionate man he is. Peace.
September 14th, 2007 at 6:02 am
Dennis Kucinich is beyond labels, and, is most certainly a visionary!
Why is single-payer health care, privately administered and publicly funded considered left? In the United States, we have universal, single-payer education. Therefore, no one need to purchase education insurance to educate a child from kindergarten through the twelth grade! In fact, in the United States, it is the public schools that thrive, although depending on the area, there IS as significant difference in the quality of education. But, the private schools often find it challenging to stay in business. However, when it comes to healthcare, the reverse is true. It is the private hospitals and insurance companies, and private drug companies that thrive, while the public hospitals are often encountering serious financial difficulties.
In the United States, do we value education more highly than we value health care? It looks like it!
If single-payer health care is “Left”, then single-payer primary and secondary education must be equally left.
Imagine how literate we would be if our education system, like our health care system, were profit driven?
I do not view Presidential Candidate Dennis Kucinich as “Left”, I see Dennis Kucinich as a Candidate who speaks the truth and has the best interest of the people, and of the country as a whole, at heart.
Many thank-you’s to Dennis Kucinich!