Candidate Energy Policies
I was going to put together a matrix showing where the remaining candidates stand on various energy policy issues. In the course of researching it, I found that other people have done this already so I will just link out to these sites.
The best I could find is from Grist’s Election ‘08 series. They have a nice grid where you can Compare the Candidates. Clinton, Obama, and McCain are very similar in their positions. The one that stood out to me most was Ron Paul. Decades of letting the market determine US Energy policy have gotten us into the situation we find ourselves in today. Out of all the candidates, only Ron Paul wants more of the same. He opposes subsidies for both renewable energy and biofuels. Dr. Paul is also the only remaining candidate who does not support a cap and trade system to limit and rollback emissions. The EPA website has a page on Cap and Trade but you should be aware that the EPA explanations have drawn criticism for ignoring the negatives associated with the concept.
The CNN site has a page that summarizes each candidates position on energy issues. Another site worth checking out is Popular Mechanic’s geek the vote ‘08 section.
About geek the vote ‘08
Popular Mechanics compiled these links to make it easier to compare leading presidential candidates on several issues of interest to our readers, primarily in areas of science and technology. We did not analyze any of the proposals, and we do not necessarily endorse them.
Here was the methodology: We thoroughly reviewed the campaign Web sites of leading candidates from each party for position papers and press releases that spelled out policy proposals. (This involved judgment calls; campaigns don’t all group their proposals using the same language. In particular, automotive, environmental and energy policies tend to cross category boundaries.) We did not examine speeches, debate transcripts or interviews with journalists. We called or emailed each campaign at least twice to invite staff members to provide documentation on subjects that weren’t addressed on a candidate’s site. In many instances, we quoted campaign literature directly. In others, we paraphrased proposals. In all cases, we link to where we found the information.
