| (Rep. Brian Higgins came to SUNY Fredonia today as a part of this week's Earth Week celebrations here at the college. Ralph Nader will be joining us on Friday.)
Rep. Brian Higgins (D-Buffalo) spoke today at SUNY Fredonia about the environment and policy in Washington D.C.
 Higgins talked about the economic benefits of taking care of the environment and said that "the federal government is not responding as aggressively as we need to do." He also discussed how we are "financing both sides of the War on Terror" with oil and the money for that oil going to our enemies.
Higgins was asked about ethanol and argued that sugar cane-based ethanol is "much more efficient" than corn-based ethanol. He called corn-based ethanol "problematic" because there is no economic balance. While he hopes to see alternatives, he also hopes we can overcome Big Oil's influence in our politics.
Higgins also discussed the fact that oil producing nations no longer depend solely on the United States as a country who will purchase their oil, but other countries like China, India and South Korea are big consumers of oil.
He also talked about his two trips to Sudan and more specifically, Darfur. He mentioned how that conflict is partially fueled by natural resources and the power grab for these resources.
I was impressed with how Higgins handled himself regarding the environment. I am glad to see he is a congressman from New York. He is very smart and he is particularly knowledgeable regarding environmental issues. |
