President Obama got his start on the road to the White House right here in Iowa, at the caucuses, in January 2008.

 

It's ironic, therefore, but not surprising, that the issues most important over the long term to Iowa were never mentioned during caucus campaigning or during the rest of the primary and election season.

 

I am referring to land use, meaning protection of Iowa farmland from urban sprawl "development"; transportation, meaning whether we continue to build more highways and thus destroy--by means of the urban sprawl which highways promote--even more Iowa farmland, or invest instead in enviromentally sound modes of transportation such as railroads; and agricultural biotechnology, which has made Iowa arguably the most genetically engineered place on earth, and which is literally shredding the web of life.

 

Recent events, such as today's speech by Mr. Obama at a highway construction site, in which he called for more road building to stimulate the economy and create jobs, and the appointment of Tom Vilsack, a fervent supporter of the agricultural biotech industry, as Secretary of Agriculture, do not bode well for Iowa's future.

 

On the eve of Lincoln's 200th birthday it is being widely noted how our Civil War president was continually growing in thought and wisdom. We know that Mr. Obama looks to Lincoln as an inspiration. We remember too that Franklin Roosevelt once told a group of progressive activists (I paraphrase) that I agree with what you want me to do, now make me do it.

 

With pressure from the right people, it is likely that President Obama, like President Franklin Roosevelt, can be made to do what is right. Doing what is right for Iowa, and for the world, must include, in my opinion, dealing with the issues I have touched on above. This will mean work, a lot of work. 

 

Is this work that the Iowa Chapter of Sierra Club is capable of, and willing to do?

 

Thomas Mathews

Des Moines, Iowa

(Central Iowa Group)