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.

I wasn’t sure I would have time or the inclination to do today’s Ideas Matter! post because of the Super Tuesday primaries yesterday.  But someone directed me to what may be one of the most important documents ever released by a major energy company.  Every three years or so The Shell Group group of companies produces what it calls "scenarios".  A scenario in this context is an alternative view of the future. A scenario identifies some significant events, main actors and their motivations, and they convey how the world functions.

 Building and using scenarios can help us explore what the future might look like and the likely changes of living in it. Shell has been using scenarios for 30 years. The  audience for these scenarios do not only consist of businesses and governments but all people who are curious by nature, and who are highly motivated to acquire a deeper understanding of the world around them.

Shell’s release of a new scenario is always news worthy on its own, but this scenario is more candid and important than most.  It has received more media coverage in mainstream U.K. and Australian news than it has in the US.  As this Google News Query shows, its been covered in the US but only on a limited niche media way.  This report contains, in clear and direct wording, the acknowledgment of the validity of one of the basic principles of Hubbert’s Peak in the business planning of a major energy company.

Shell traditionally uses its scenarios to prepare for the future without expressing a preference for one over another.  This time however, there is a clear preference.   As Shell CEO Jeroen van der Veer explains in this introduction to the new scenarios, only one of the scenarios produces a desirable future that leaves the earth in relatively better shape for both corporate investors and future generations of humans.  

The two scenarios Shell has produced are called "Scramble" and "Blueprints".  Scramble is described as: "Like an off-road rally through a mountainous desert, it promises excitement and fierce competition. However, the unintended consequence of "more haste" will often be "less speed", and many will crash along the way."  Blueprints, on the other hand, is described as resembling "a cautious ride, with some false starts, on a road that is still under construction. Whether we arrive safely at our destination depends on the discipline of the drivers and the ingenuity of all those involved in the construction effort. Technological innovation provides the excitement."

Shell breaks with tradition and endorses the Blueprints scenario.  The summary says "… faced with the need to manage climate risk for our investors and our descendants, we believe the Blueprints outcomes provide the best balance between economy, energy, and environment. For a second opinion, we appealed to climate change calculations made at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. These calculations indicate that a Blueprints world with CO2 capture and storage results in the least amount of climate change, provided emissions of other major manmade greenhouse gases are similarly reduced."

The full report as well as information about how the scenarios are created and what they really mean are available on Shell’s website in the Looking Ahead section.  If you have the time, I would suggest that you reading Jeroen van der Veer’s  full summary at Two Energy Futures before going on to today’s candidates quotes on Energy.

Energy policy and Climate change are inextricably linked.  So these quotes will touch on both issues.  Ideas about energy matter a great deal,  and these are the ideas of one of our current presidential candidates:

 Suppose that climate change is not real, and we do adopt green technologies, which our economy and technology are capable of. Then all we’ve done is given our kids a cleaner world. But suppose that climate change is real and we’ve done nothing. What kind of a planet are we going to pass on to the next generation? It’s real. We’ve got to address it with technology, with cap-and- trade, with capitalist and free enterprise motivation. We can pass on to our children and grandchildren a cleaner, better world.

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[We need to] stop the contamination of our atmosphere. Climate change is real & is taking place. We have now a confluence of two national security requirements. One is to address the issue of climate change, and nuclear power is a very big part of that. And it’s also a requirement to not allow Chavez in Venezuela, Putin in Russia and the president of Iran to dictate world events and use oil as a weapon which would probably further terrorism and endanger this nation’s national security.

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Q: Do you have a problem with Big Oil companies making these huge profits?

A: Sure, I think we all do. And they ought to be reinvesting it. And one of the areas that they ought to be involved in is nuclear power. Nuclear power is safe, nuclear power is green–& does not emit greenhouse gases. Nuclear power is used on Navy ships which have sailed around the world for 60 years without an accident. And of course we ought to be investing in alternate energy sources.

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Q: You said: "Ethanol does nothing to reduce fuel consumption, nothing to increase our energy independence, nothing to improve air quality." And after you said that, you acknowledged you might pay a political price for that view. You said:  "My opposition to ethanol obviously would hurt me. But I’ve got to do what I think is right. And if it offends a certain political constituency, I regret it, but there’s really nothing I can do about it."

A: When oil is $15 a barrel, ethanol does not make sense. When oil is $60-plus a barrel, then ethanol does make sense.

Q: So you’ve changed your mind.

A: No, I haven’t. I have adjusted to the realities of the world we live in today.

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"National security depends on energy security. Al-Qaida must revel in the irony that America is effectively helping to fund both sides of the war they caused. As we sacrifice blood and treasure, some of our gas dollars flow to the fanatics who build the bombs, hatch the plots, and carry out attacks on our soldiers and citizens.  The transfer of American wealth to the Middle East helps sustain the conditions on which terrorists prey."

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Oil is often called the lifeblood of our economy-the indispensable commodity that keeps commerce humming and America on the move. But, in today’s world, our dependency on foreign oil and the way we use hydrocarbons is a major strategic vulnerability, a serious threat to our security, our economy and the well being of our planet.

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The burning of oil and other fossil fuels is contributing to the dangerous accumulation of greenhouse gases in the earth’s atmosphere, altering our climate with the potential for major social, economic and political upheaval. The world is already feeling the powerful effects of global warming, and far more dire consequences are predicted if we let the growing deluge of greenhouse gas emissions continue, and wreak havoc with God’s creation. A group of senior retired military officers recently warned about the potential upheaval caused by conflicts over water, arable land and other natural resources under strain from a warming planet. The problem isn’t a Hollywood invention nor is doing something about it a vanity of Cassandra like hysterics. It is a serious and urgent economic, environmental and national security challenge.

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Answering great challenges is nothing new to America. It’s what we do. We built the rockets that took us to the moon not because it was easy but because it was hard. We’ve sent space probes into the distant reaches of the universe. We harnessed nuclear energy, mapped the human genome, created the Internet and pioneered integrated circuits that possess the computing power of Apollo spacecraft on a single silicon chip you can barely see. In twenty years we’ve gone from using this cell phone (SHOW), a $4000 toy for the wealthy, to this cell phone (SHOW), an inexpensive and virtually universal means of communication. We can solve our oil dependence. You can’t sell me on hopelessness. You can’t convince me the problem is insurmountable. I know my country. I know what we’re capable of. We’re capable of unimaginable progress, unmatched prosperity, and vision that sees around the corner of history. We’ve always understood our times, accepted our challenges and made from our opportunities, another better world. My people are Americans. Our time is today. That is the country I ask to lead.

The twentieth century produced massive changes in how we live our lives.  Changes in transportation, manufacturing, communication, and information management and sharing have created a world that would be virtually unrecognizable to someone who died in the late 19th century.  The 21st century will see another massive shift in the way we live our lives.  One of these possible shifts would send a big portion of the world’s population back to a 19th century lifestyle while other shifts will create a future that balances the best of the past with new technology that helps us achieve a stable, sustainable way of life.

One side effect of writing this series of blog posts is that I have found myself digging a bit deeper into the history and written record of candidates that I normally wouldn’t have taken the time to examine.  This presidential election, the second in the twenty-first century, is the first election in which regular citizens have access – in their homes – to information that normally would be ‘locked up’ in libraries and newspaper archives.  in 2004, only paying users had access to the New York Times archive. 

Every year more of our political history as a nation comes on line.  This should allow us, in theory, to make choices that are better informed and also allow us to pinpoint which candidates express ideas and values that most closely align with our own.  There are plenty of websites out there that make this possible but most are based on Minnesota Public Radio’s excellent  Select A Candidate  system.  An acquaintance of mine took that test and her best match was someone she hadn’t even really been aware of as a candidate. 

This election is still being run by the mass media.  They are the ones who determine how much press coverage each candidate receives and how big a role each plays in the debates.  Maybe by 2012, we will see more direct exchange of information between the candidates and the electorate.

On to the quotes! 

Today I am focusing on quotes from a candidate on the subject of crime, prisons, and criminality in general.  This candidate has a long track record when it comes to outspoken positions on these issues.  Because I feel these are related matters, I will be pulling position information from a variety of topics.

We are losing an entire generation of young men & women to our prisons. Our nation’s ineffective & wasteful "war on drugs" plays a major role in this. We must place a greater emphasis on rehabilitation & prevention. We must de-criminalize minor drug offenses & increase the availability & visibility of substance abuse treatment & prevention in our communities as well as in prisons.

We must increase the use of special drug courts in which addicted offenders are given the opportunity to complete court supervised substance abuse treatment instead of being sentenced to prison. Drug defendants convicted of nonviolent offenses should be given alternative penalties [instead of] mandatory prison sentences. We should emphasize the criminalization of the importers, manufacturers, and major distributors, rather than just the street venders. Prisons in this country should be a legitimate criminal sanction — but it should be an extension of a fair, just and wise society.

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Russell G. Oswald, Commission of Corrections of NY State, pinpointed the problem: "Society has done damn little in ending poverty illiteracy that provide the seeds of unrest and problems that lead people to prisons.".    The lesson is clear. More police, more jails, more tough talk will not help. None of these traditionally instinctive reactions to crime can stem the rising tide. So long as injustice and inequity in larger society exist on the gross scale that they do today, all the reasoning and rhetoric and police clubs in the world will not stop the have-nots from going after the goods they seek through the only avenue they feel is open to them–crime. So long as we delay the basic reforms, that long will our cities continue to half-exist, in fear, behind locked doors.

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Because so much crime is the product of people who were in prison, an obvious means of reducing crime is to drastically reduce our prison population. That can be done, at no danger to society, almost overnight. How? By eliminating a whole host of common social activities from the law’s list of "crimes."

Common activities for which we now punish people–so-called "victimless-crimes" because they affect no one but the participant–include drinking, prostitution, gambling, homosexuality, & use of certain drugs. What is the point of jailing people for these practices? What more towering hypocrisy, what more potent breeder of total disrespect for the law can there be than these "crimes," which are practiced by millions of citizens, but for which only a few are singled out for punishment?

Victimless crimes are a peril to our health only in so far as they are classified as crimes. Some 51% of criminal arrests in ____ were for victimless crimes. We could very nearly empty our jails by abolishing them.

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We have to address the whole drug issue. I see no reasonable difference between marijuana and booze or alcohol, and there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be able to go to a liquor store and buy marijuana. It has recuperative powers.

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With hard drugs, what you should do is you decriminalize it. You turn around and treat it like a health issue that it is. And so people who want hard drugs — let them go to a doctor; let them get a prescription. Then we can record them and be ready to help them when they’re ready to be helped. The way it is now, we fill up our prisons. It’s the shame of this country that we have 2,300,000 human beings in prison. Half of them shouldn’t even be there.

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Is there anybody that doesn’t know the social failure of Prohibition in the 1920s that criminalized our society, that caused people to lose respect for the law? That’s what we’re doing all over again. It’s been 25 years that we’ve been waging this war on drugs, and it’s an absolute failure.

What’s ravaging the inner cities? It is the drug war–not the drugs–the drug war & all of the [associated] activity. Where is the leadership to end this? FDR had the guts to end it back in 1933. I will end it now. 

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While _________ fully supports the 2nd Amendment, he believes that fundamental change must take place with regards to gun ownership. The ______ advocates a licensing program where a potential gun owner must be licensed as well as properly trained with a firearm before they may own one.

On a side note, this candidate’s background is fascinating.  He’s the child of immigrants, who joined the miliary and made it up to 1st Leutenant.  After leaving the military, he earned an degree in economics while working as worked as a bar boy and cab driver.  He’s been a  railroad brakeman, a state Senator, a US Senator, a real estate developer, and he founded non-profit think tank.  At one point, he filed for personal bankruptcy due to medical expenses.  

His history and actions show he has a strong faith in the American people’s ability to best govern themselves when given full access to information.  In order to make people aware of what was going on during the Vietnam War, he helped facilitate the release of  "The Pentagon Papers" and read 4100 of the 7000 pages into the Senate Record.  That event eventually led to a Supreme Court decision that  ruled the senator did not have the right and responsibility to share official documents with his constituents.

EDIT:  The candidate highlighted was Mike Gravel, former Senator from Alaska.

Ideas Matter! Volume 2

This rather lengthy segment is on Education.  Alan’s comment about our educational system having been dismantled made me want to dig into a candidate’s position on education.  Most of the crop of 2008 Presidential candidates sound like clones, but one stood out in my reading so I included it here:

I believe that every child should have the opportunity for a quality education that teaches the fundamental skills needed to compete in a global economy.  …the business leaders I met weren’t worried about creating jobs, they were worried about finding skilled and professional workers to fill those jobs.

In addition, I want to provide our children what I call the "Weapons of Mass Instruction" – art and music – the secret, effective weapons that will help us to be competitive and creative. It is crucial that children flex both the left and right sides of the brain. We all know the cliché of thinking outside the box: I want our children to be so creative that they think outside the cardboard factory. Art and music are as important as math and science because the dreamers and visionaries among us take the rough straw of an idea and spin it into the gold of new businesses and jobs. It is as important to identify and encourage children with artistic talent as it is those with athletic ability. Our future economy depends on a creative generation.

Students with strong art and music programs have higher academic achievement overall, are far more likely to read for pleasure and participate in community service, and are less likely to engage in delinquent behavior. These programs have a powerful effect in leveling the academic playing field for students from lower socio-economic backgrounds. The study of music improves math scores, spatial reasoning and abstract thinking.

The success of our schools has to be judged by the results we obtain, not the revenues we spend. A focus on true quality rather than mere quantity requires us to set high standards for our students and teachers, measure their performance diligently, and hold educators and administrators accountable for the results in an atmosphere of transparency and efficiency.

We need to test teachers as well as students, replace teachers who aren’t competent, and impose reasonable waiting periods for teachers to gain tenure. We should provide bonuses and forgive student loans for high-performing teachers to work in low-performing schools. Just as there are executives in the corporate world who specialize in turning around failing companies, we need teachers who are "turn-around specialists" for failing schools.

Typical employment procedures provide a disincentive for teachers and often discourage potentially good teachers from entering what I consider to be a noble profession.  Educators and teachers should be involved in the design of compensation initiatives that encourage training and promote performance based on merit, so that our children can have the best education in the world.

As President, my education agenda will include working towards a clear distinction between the federal role in assisting and empowering states and in usurping the right of states to carry out the education programs for their students. While there is value in the "No Child Left Behind" law’s effort to set high national standards, states must be allowed to develop their own benchmarks.

As President, I will use my broad and deep expertise in education policy to lift up our children and America’s economic future.

Is this a candidate that you would want in charge of your children’s education?     

Edit:  The candidate highlighted here is Mike Huckabee.

After a discussion over on BC today, I started wondering how many people are actually paying attention to the words coming out of politicians mouths as opposed to the "look and feel" of a candidate.  Today someone said about Mitt Romney, "I do not want him as President, no matter how attractive or wealthy he may be."  Another person, in describing his view of Obama’s placement on the political spectrum, said "well, the most extremely liberal people I know (self described) are flocking to him, so that sort of gives me a hint. "

The fellow who made the second statement (kdawg68) agreed with me that too often we filter our views of candidates through the positive or negative media coverage or our opinion of the candidates more vocal supporters.  In this, the Information Age, we can go right to the source and read our candidates positions in their own writing, but too often, we do not.  Once people select a candidate, they too often, tune out new information about their chosen person or the other possible candidates.  We need to address ideas and not personalities.  Character matters, but an honest idiot is not going to the help this country.

With that in mind, I decided to try an experiment.  I am going to include excerpts from speeches political writing with the names and serial numbers filed off so to speak, to get people’s reaction to the ideas expressed.  Please comment on whether or not the ideas expressed in this speech appeal to you and make you like the politician saying it more or less.   If you know who spoke these words, please do not mention it in your comment until I reveal it later.  Any blanks are simply there to eliminate words or names that would indicate who said or wrote the text.

EDIT: Based on one comment that came in, I realize I should make this clearer.  The following is from one speech by one person so it should be taken as a whole.

I realize that many of you have not believed that we really have an energy problem. But _____ has made all of us realize that we have to act.

Now, the Congress has already made many of the preparations for energy legislation. _______ is beginning to direct an effort to develop a national energy policy. Many groups of Americans will be involved. On ________ we will have completed the planning for our energy program and will immediately then ask the Congress for its help in enacting comprehensive legislation.

Our program will emphasize conservation. The amount of energy being wasted which could be saved is greater than the total energy that we are importing from foreign countries. We will also stress development of our rich coal reserves in an environmentally sound way; we will emphasize research on solar energy and other renewable energy sources; and we will maintain strict safeguards on necessary atomic energy production.

The responsibility for setting energy policy is now split among more than 50 different agencies, departments, and bureaus in the Federal Government. ________ I will ask the Congress for its help in combining many of these agencies in a new energy department to bring order out of chaos. Congressional leaders have already been working on this for quite a while.

We must face the fact that the energy shortage is permanent. There is no way we can solve it quickly. But if we all cooperate and make modest sacrifices, if we learn to live thriftily and remember the importance of helping our neighbors, then we can find ways to adjust and to make our society more efficient and our own lives more enjoyable and productive. Utility companies must promote conservation and not consumption. Oil and natural gas companies must be honest with all of us about their reserves and profits. We will find out the difference between real shortages and artificial ones. We will ask private companies to sacrifice, just as private citizens must do.

All of us must learn to waste less energy. Simply by keeping our thermostats, for instance, at 65 degrees in the daytime and 55 degrees at night we could save half the current shortage of natural gas.

There is no way that I, or anyone else in the Government, can solve our energy problems if you are not willing to help. I know that we can meet this energy challenge if the burden is borne fairly among all our people–and if we realize that in order to solve our energy problems we need not sacrifice the quality of our lives.

Please comment and let me know if you think the ideas expressed by this politician speaks to your own feelings and positions.  The next entry in this series and the owner of the words above will be posted on Friday.