There are certain elections that stir people to get involved whether its writing letters to the editor or helping get out the vote. For Jeff Schweitzer, who served as an Assistant Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, that was not enough. In a matter of forty-eight hours he managed to write Vote! To Save the Planet: Your Guide to Issues that Matter (Rvive Books).
Vote! is a handy reference and breezy read as to the many reasons why the call for change must prevail on Election Day. The pamphlet or mini-book, which is also available for free download at votetosavetheplanet.com, is not limited to environmental issues. Schweitzer makes the case that today environmental issues and national security and other issues are intertwined. For example, the Pentagon was one of the few voices within the Bush administration to warn about the dangers of global warming which it saw as a significant national security threat.
Schweitzer covers approximately sixty different issues, including the environment, national security, social and constitutional issues and Sarah Palin. Schweitzer argues that the McCain-Palin ticket would "create a tsunami of environmental destruction" and be nothing more than "a continuation of eight years of failure." He is especially biting when it comes to Governor Palin, whom he dismisses as "an avatar, a figment of the right wing imagination."
As you might imagine, such a tone is not likely to persuade many McCain voters, but the book is a great resource for those trying to convince the few remaining undecided voters to vote for Senator Obama. In only forty-eight hours, Schweitzer has done a great job of flagging the issues and making the case for change. Vote! is essential reading for those on the front lines of this election -- consider it talking points for the "Great Schlep".
This book, however, has value beyond the election. Jeff Schweitzer had done a fine a job outlining just how very wrong the Republicans have been the past eight years -- and, more likely than not, they will continue to be wrong as the debate continues after Election Day.