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Heinz stumps for Kerry, pushes eco-agenda |
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Kevin Hudson |
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Andre Heinz, step-son of presidential candidate John Kerry, doesn’t
pull any punches when it comes to campaigning on issues he cares about. Heinz was the focus of a student-journalist roundtable discussion Wednesday
at Portland State University. The topics ranged from his personal anecdotes
about snowboarding and being “drug up a mountain” by his famous
step-father to foreign policy and the presidential debates. But Heinz focused most of his attention on the changes that the Democratic
ticket is proposing in environmental policy. Heinz specializes in environmental issues. He has a master’s degree
in environmental studies from the Yale School of Forestry and is now
an outspoken proponent of the “industrial ecology” movement,
which he says is an attempt to move industry and economics toward environment-friendly,
sustainable strategies. According to Heinz, the biggest challenge for America from an environmental
perspective is moving from being predominantly reactive in our policies
to pro-active. “Instead of trying to design the cheapest filter
for your smokestack, you hire an engineer to design your whole process
and business model to be sustainable.” Heinz said he is frustrated by the election-year politics and the lack
of emphasis that the campaigns have put on the environment. “Due
to the pressures of the campaign, due to how successfully the Republicans
have kept ‘fear-mongering’, this is not the best time for
that discussion. I’m frustrated by that because time is against
us,” he said. Heinz also spoke in opposition of the government’s nuclear policies. He said that by using more and more nuclear power, the United States is sending a “green light” for other countries to use nuclear power. “It’s not ethically defensible for us to say we’re the only ones allowed to use it,” said Heinz. “Other people say, ‘if your basis for using it is because
you need to have a healthy economy, we in Iraq and we in Iran need that
same thing.’ “What is happening now is we’re having nuclear materials
around the world, and in places like Iran it might be better that they
didn’t.” When asked what the Kerry-Edwards administration will do for students,
Heinz pointed to the service-for-tuition package that Kerry has proposed.
He said that under Kerry, any college student who participates in two
years of community service will recieve four years of tuition at their
state college. “It’s something that a lot of college kids are already doing,
mentoring and volunteering and giving their time to the community. And
it’s time they were acknowledged and rewarded for that.” Heinz said that he will be returning to Sweden and his position with
“The Natural Step,” advising government and business entities
on moving towards sustainable strategies. He made it very clear that
while he is enjoying the opportunity to campaign, he will not be working
within the Kerry administration, if elected. He said, “My expectation
is that, in the Kerry administration, positions and influence will be
accorded on the basis of merit, not ‘IOUs.’ ” “Frankly, that’s one of the reasons I am really mad at Bush,
on a personal level, because I know what it’s like to have access,
I grew up with that. I know what it’s like to have the silver spoon
in my mouth, I grew up very wealthy,” said Heinz. “It’s
important, when born into something like this, to be very attentive
about not reading your own press. Not listening to people blowing smoke
up your you-know-what. To not sit there and say, ‘yeah, I can be
president because they want me to,’ or ‘I can be president
simply because I can.’ “The fact is, George Bush is president because he could be, not because he should be. That makes me mad.” |