Tuesday, May 5, 2009 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com 15 CHRIS KOSLOWSKI | T T ST E E-MAIL CHRIS AT CSKOSLOW@UMICH.EDU why ar you wearing that This ply is cerawlig wit surgical cask pigs, man. Ad this is why you never Swne u duh get invited to parties * 0 0 s00 * * O o 0 0 0 Losing Je wish appea Investing green p ennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter made headlines last week when he formally changed parties and gave Demo- crats a possible filibuster-proof majority. The increase of the number of Sen- ate Democrats to the magic - 60 (assuming MATTHEW Al Franken of Minnesota wins GREEN the legal battle- over his senate seat) is no small thing. It will mean a great deal for President Barack Obama, Congressional Democrats and indeed the rest of the country. But of all the commentary on Sena- tor Specter's political shift, I was most affected by Avi Zenilman in The New Yorker. Zenilman ended his opinion piece (Three Quick Thoughts on Specter's Defection, 04/28/2009) by pointing out that, with Specter gone from the GOP, "Eric Cantor -is the last Jewish Republican in Congress." The remark served more as a light-hearted conclusion to Zenil- man's piece than any real talking point. But upon further consid- eration, I realized the true sig- nificance of that detail. First, it highlights the fact that a large majority of American Jews vote Democrat. If Congressman Cantor of Florida is the last Republican out of the 45 Jews in Congress, 98 percent are Democrats or liberal Independents. In addition, over 75 percent of Jews voted for Barack Obama in 2008. Seeing those inordinate num- bers makes me wonder exactly why this trend is so prevalent. Some scholars point to the empha- sis on peace and human rights within Jewish thought, while oth- ers offer an analysis of immigrant history and urban proximity. Still others look at Jewish involvement in the labor movement. All of the above are contributing reasons, to be sure. Yet, while each of the aforemen- tioned points is relevant, the most timely reason why Jews don't tend to vote Republican is simply that the GOP has become the myopic party of rural America and the Christian religious right. Having spent one or two millennia on the periphery of Christian society, it's unsurprising that American Jews generally feel uncomfort- able voting for a party that defies the mainstream and considers the United States a Christian nation. But Jewish distaste for the GOP is only one example of for the over- all nearsightedness of the party. Apart from repelling religious minorities, the Republicans have similarly pushed away virtually all racial minority groups, gays, women and independents. Repub- lican leaders have been preoccu- pied for too long with pandering to evangelists and so-called "real Americans," promotingimpossible standards for what it means to be an American that they've failed to reach. It shouldn't surprise the GOP that they're losing elections, considering how vastly they have diminshed their own supportbase. If Republicans want to regain power, they'll have to become more moderate and accepting of all sorts of groups. If Obama is successful in the next few years, Democrats will stay in power and push a center- left agenda that will keep America socially competitive with the rest of the world during the ensuing political era. But if the Democrats fail to impress and the Republi- cans have an opportunity for a comeback, they'll have to return as a hugely different party than they were even four years ago. Perhaps they'll be less xenophobic, perhaps they'll be in favor of granting full reproductive rights to women, or perhaps they'll even see homosex- nals as normal human beings. To survive, the GOP must be more inclusive. But in 2010, if Republicans do not clean up their act, it is probable that they will suffer even more losses. Things are so bad for the Grand Old Party that they lost a historical member even during a non-election year. Talk about neg- ative momentum. But in a way, this survival of the fittest is the sort of capitalistic idea Republicans are supposed to like. Democrats are making more profits, so to speak, because there's more of a demand for what they have to offer. So now it's the Republicans' chance to change their business model and steal some of the Democrats' busi- ness. If they can't, then they will have to quietly exit the market, saying goodbye to their comeback. But they'd probably ask for a bailout before that happened. - Matthew Green can be reached at greenmat rumich.edu. THE EDITORIAL BOARD The Daily is looking for a diverse group of informed, hard-working writers to join its Editorial Board. For more information, e-mail Rachel Van Gilder at rachelvg drumich.edu. n a series entitled "Our energy future" that ran from Apr. 13 to Apr. 17, the Daily covered a variety of emerging and established green energy technologies that will help reduce harm- ful emissions - from power BEN plants. WhileC many of the CALECA technologies that harness natural forces such as solar and wind power have long histories of extensive research in our coun- try, such technologies are not a panacea for all energy crises. This is because of their depen- dence on climate conditions and high maintenance costs. The real key is not only in expanding cur- rent green energy sources, but also investing in new avenues of research for viable, universally applicable clean energy. Two months ago, the U.S. Department of Energy announced certification of the primary laser at the National Ignition Facility, located at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Califor- nia. The project sounds like some- thing taken out of science fiction. Using the world's largest laser, a powerful beam of light is split into 192 separate beams and then refo- cused onto a pea-sized amount of hydrogen fuel. The hope is that they can fuse these hydrogen atoms into helium, and in turn release massive amounts of clean energy. But the real trick is mak- ing such a system self-sustainable so that it can produce continuous energy for consumers to use. Fusion reactors like the one at NIF are a safe alternative to reactors using radioactive fuel. Fueling them would require only hydrogen and its isotopes, which can be readily extracted from seawater. The reactors are not limited by safety concerns like nuclear plants, nor are they lim- ited by the amount of sunlight or wind a region gets at certain times, counteringthe drawbacks of other green energy sources. Even more productive would be the use of Helium-3, an isotope rarely found on Earth but abundant in rocks on the Moon. It could make the trip to space economically viable. As it stands right now, prac- tical use of the process is a long way off. First tests with the NIF began two months ago. Full "igni- tion" of the fusion reactor's fuel is planned for sometime next year. A project called the Interna- tional Thermonuclear Experi- mental Reactor, another type of fusion reactor, uses magnets to confine a fusion reaction. But this type of reactor is still in develop- ment. While it builds offof a long historyof experimental data from earlier magnetically confined fusion experiments, this project is a long way from starting its pri- mary research goals. If tests prove successful at the NIF or the ITER, further research would be required to turn such a system into a viable commercial system capable of running efficiently. Economic conditions make funding such research nearly impossible in the private sector because of the billions of dollars required to lay the groundwork for the science behind a potential commercial undertaking. Fusion is the future of enviro- friendly energy. Inevitably, such research lies in the hands of government agencies with an eye toward the future. The federal stimulus plan passed a few months ago included significant governmental invest- ments in solar, wind, and other renewable energy technologies. And here in Michigan, Governor Jennifer Granholm has made the green energy industry the cor- nerstone of her plan to revamp the failing economy. But research on new technology with incred- ible potential to power large areas cheaply and cleanly - like the NIF fusion reactor is a type of energy investment the fed- eral government has yet to make. Investments like this would be valuable to ensure the energy security of the United States and the rest of the world. The increasing prominence and funding of current renew- able energy sources such as solar, wind and nuclear power plants in the quest for clean, oil-indepen- dent power in the United States and abroad is a positive sign of change. But our country is miss- ing the opportunity to expand its energy portfolio in a way that can keep pace with its exponen- tially expanding energy demand. The solutions to a greener future do not lie in simply perfecting established ideas. Instead, the future of energy is in pioneering new creations such as the NIF. To make this future a reality, gov- ernment and industry must invest in researchers and inventors who are dreaming of solutions most people can hardly fathom. - Ben Caleca can be reached at calecab@umich.edu. LIKE WHAT YOU SEE LETTERS HERE? WANT MORE? V Let us know what you think Read more from Daily col- about the issues. 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