I consider myself rather politically conscious. I watch and read the news, I’ve watched many of the debates of both parties. I do not, however, see any of the candidates seriously talking about any issues that I feel would truly benefit the United States. Sure, healthcare and the war in Iraq are important, but there are more than just two issues. So, because no one else seems to be talking about them, here are a few campaign issues that I would like to see debated and discussed.

• Solar Power – This is pretty much the only energy source we have on this planet that is completely inexhaustible and it is, by far, the environmentally cleanest option. Even if we do somehow manage to exhaust the Sun as an energy source, we’ve got bigger problems, because we’ll all be dead. There are two things that the government should absolutely be doing to encourage the use of solar energy. First and foremost, there should be tax breaks for those willing to install solar paneling on their home or office building. It’s clean, it reduces the requirements for coal or nuclear power, and excess energy can even be sold back to the grid for others to use. The government should also be funding research towards improved efficiency. Instead of blowing billions of dollars in a quagmire, spend some money on research that will actually help our country and, in the long run, improve our country’s image in the world. If enough money is put towards the research, I have no doubt that solar paneling could become even more efficient and potentially lest costly to produce.
• Cellolosic Ethanol – If you’re a regular reader of this blog, then you already know I’ve talked about this before. Before I continue, I have to point out that there is only one declared candidate that I am aware of who has mentioned this publicly and talks about it on his web site: John Edwards. For that, I applaud him. Current ethanol products that fuel cars are exclusively sugar-based ethanol. This means that it is created using plants high in sugar, such as corn or sugarcane. It is inefficient and raises the prices of these crops when used as food. Cellulose, however, is found in high levels in all plants. Because of this, even the parts of the plants that were previously disposed of, such as corn stalks and leaves, could instead be used to produce fuel and the corn and sugarcane could go back to being grown for food. Not only would this hugely benefit America’s farmers, but we could rapidly become a fuel-independent country and potentially even an exporter of fuels. With government funding, cellulosic ethanol would completely replace the less efficient sugar ethanol and America could wean itself off of oil within a generation.
• National Infrastructure – If you watch the news, read the news paper, or listen to the radio, you’re aware that the I-35W bridge collapsed in Minneapolis recently. I no longer live in Minneapolis, but this was a bridge that for many years I lived only a few blocks away from and drove over to get to work several times a week. The state of this country’s interstate highways and railways is an embarrassment. I am completely failing to understand why a country the size of the US does not have a high speed rail infrastructure to rival that sprawling across Europe. Money of course needs to be invested not only in the upkeep of the existing infrastructure, but the serious funding should go towards the planning and construction of an improved national highway system and a brand new state of the art high speed rail line connecting the major cities and regions of the country.
• Election Reform – No, not campaign reform, that’s horse has already been beaten to death. I’m talking about true election reform. The electoral college is outdated and, as clearly seen in the 2000 presidential election, flawed. The current election type highly favors only a two party system, limiting the spectrum of views of a large portion of the united states. I will readily admit that I do not know enough about the different types of elections used throughout the world, so I cannot form an intelligent suggestion for how it should be fixed, but it does need to be fixed. In 2000, America voted Al Gore in to the white house. Flawed ballots, corruption, and a lazy Florida supreme court stole this honor away from him and instead gave the Presidency to the man who has done more harm to this country’s international image and wracked up more national debt than any previous president. This should not and cannot be allowed to happen again.

There are plenty of other issues I can talk about here, but in my eyes, the above are among the most important. Hopefully, some of the trailing candidates can realize that talking solely about healthcare and Iraq isn’t going to get them anywhere and that these issues deserve their voice.