<http://truth-out.org/news/item/11834-obama-vs-romney-everything-you-need-to-know-about-where-the-candidates-stand-on-energy-policy>
Obama Versus Romney: Everything You Need to Know About Where the
Candidates Stand on Energy Policy
Friday, 28 September 2012 11:24
By Daniel J. Weiss and Jackie Weidman, ThinkProgress | News Analysis
Clean energy is an important part of the economy of Colorado, which
is the location of the first presidential debate on October 3rd.
Colorado's robust wind industry and 70,000 jobs in green goods and
services could suffer if the Production Tax Credit for wind isn't
extended by the end of 2012. The presidential candidates differ on
this, as well as other energy issues. Hopefully the Denver debate,
scheduled to focus on the economy, will also address energy policies
so vital to Colorado and the nation.
The United States is in the midst of significant changes in our
energy outlook. We are producing and burning more natural gas for
electricity, while reducing coal use. Domestic oil production is at a
15-year high while oil imports are at a 15-year low. Renewable
electricity doubled over the past four years, while worldwide carbon
pollution and the impacts of climate change grow. The next president
will face these and other serious challenges posed by a changing
energy world.
President Barack Obama's first term featured the adoption of
essential toxic and carbon pollution reduction measures to protect
public health. In addition, he modernized fuel-economy standards for
the first time in two decades, which also helped the auto industry;
invested in energy efficiency and renewable electricity; and created
tens of thousands of jobs.
Gov. Mitt Romney's energy agenda couldn't be more different. He would
undo new safeguards from mercury, carcinogens, soot, and smog from
industrial sources. He opposes the improved fuel-economy standards,
and would continue and expand tax breaks for big oil companies, while
openly disparaging clean energy and investments in wind power.
In short, there are stark differences between the two presidential
candidates that must be discussed on October 3 so Americans have a
clear view of the energy path each candidate would lead us down.
Below is a more detailed direct comparison of their positions on the
most visible energy challenges facing the nation. Following this
chart is documentation on the candidates' positions:
Oil and gas production
Obama:
Oil imports lowest since 1997; dropped by 15 percent
during term to 42 percent; vowed to cut current oil imports in half
by 2020. [[Energy Information Administration, 6/12]
Domestic oil production is the highest in 15 years.
The United States has more drilling rigs at work than the rest of the
world combined. [Center for American Progress Action Fund, 9/13/12;
Energy Information Administration, 9/11/12]
Crude oil production from federal lands and waters
was higher in 2009, 2010 and 2011 than in any of the last three years
of the Bush administration. [EIA, 3/14/12]
Raised worker and environmental safety standards for
drilling in the Gulf of Mexico following the Deepwater Horizon oil
disaster, strengthening well design, testing, control equipment, and
workplace safety. The Gulf Coast region was not hurt economically by
a temporary moratorium, which has the same unemployment as two years
ago and had rising personal income in 2011. [White House, 3/30/12,
NOLA, 4/15/12]
Romney
Would open the Florida portion of the Gulf of Mexico,
the Atlantic and Pacific Outer Continental Shelves, public lands, and
the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to new drilling. Would accelerate
drilling permits, short circuiting health and environmental reviews.
[MittRomney.com, 2011]
Defense Department concerned about Florida and
Virginia drilling expansion since it could interfere with military
training. [Panama City News Herald, 4/4/12]
Called the temporary moratorium on drilling in the
Gulf following the Deepwater Horizon disaster "illegal." [CBS News,
3/9/12]
See "Public lands protection"
Big Oil tax breaks
Obama:
Calls on Congress to end $4 billion in oil tax breaks
and to invest in clean energy instead. [White House, 3/28/2012]
Pledged to cut subsidies for oil, coal, and natural
gas internationally, along with G20 nations. [Economist,10/1/09]
Romney:
Romney supports the House Republican budget, authored
by his running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), which preserves $40
billion in tax breaks for the oil and gas industry over a decade.
[CAP, 3/20/12]
Romney's economic plan would give the big five oil
companies-BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, and Shell-an
additional $2.3 billion annual tax cut on top of existing tax breaks
they currently receive. [CAPAF, 7/26/12]
Romney's plan cuts the corporate tax rate from 35
percent to 25 percent, but does not make specific mention of oil and
gas loopholes which let oil companies pay much lower effective
federal rates. [MittRomney.com, 2012]
Asked directly in an interview about whether he is
for or against subsidizing Big Oil, Romney responded: "I'm not sure
precisely what big tax breaks we're talking about." [Fox
News, 4/3/2012]
Clean energy
Obama:
Federal government invested billions of dollars in
renewable energy projects, creating tens of thousands of jobs;
doubled generation of (non-hydropower) renewable electricity to 6
percent. [EIA, 7/1/12]
Supports extension of the production tax credit for
wind generated electricity. [White House, 5/22/12]
"Governor Romney calls [renewable sources of energy]
'imaginary.' Congressman Ryan calls them a 'fad.' I think they're the
future. I think they're worth fighting for." [Climate Progress,
8/28/12]
"I will not walk away from the promise of clean
energy. I will not cede the wind or solar or battery industry to
China or Germany because we refuse to make the same commitment here."
[State of the Union, 1/24/12]
Transforming the Pentagon energy use by reducing the
military's dependence on fossil fuels that cost the Pentagon up to
$20 billion annually. [National Journal, 4/11/12]
Romney:
Opposes the extension of the production tax credit
for wind energy, which could cost 37,000 jobs in the industry. [Des
Moines Register, 7/30/12]
"In place of real energy, Obama has focused on an
imaginary world where government-subsidized windmills and solar
panels could power the economy. This vision has failed." [Columbus
Dispatch op-ed, 8/8/12]
"You can't drive a car with a windmill on it."
[ThinkProgress, 3/6/2012]
Endorses the House passed budget authored by Ryan,
which gives a 60 percent funding increase to coal, oil, and natural
gas, while it decreases funding for research on vehicle batteries and
solar projects, and loans to companies to retool to build
fuel-efficient cars. [Politico, 4/17/12]
Reduce oil use and imports with efficient vehicles
Obama:
New modern standards require cars and light trucks to
achieve an average 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025. This, combined with
the first round of standards, will save 3.1 million barrels of oil
per day in 2030. This is equivalent to the amount of oil we currently
import from the Persian Gulf, Colombia, and Venezuela combined. [CAP,
8/28/12]
Invested in fuel-efficient vehicle and advanced
battery research and development to spur job growth and increase
international competitiveness; increased affordability and
reliability of electric vehicles. [CAP, 8/28/12]
Proposed a "race to the top" for communities to seek
federal investment in public electric vehicle recharging
infrastructure. [White House, 3/30/11]
Romney:
"Gov. Romney opposes the extreme standards that
President Obama has imposed, which will limit the choices available
to American families," said campaign spokeswoman Andrea Saul. [LA
Times, 8/28/12]
Disparaged the first plug-in hybrid electric
Chevrolet Volt as "an idea whose time has not come," and said, "I'm
not sure America was ready for the Chevy Volt." [Michigan
Live, 12/23/11, MSNBC 4/5/12]. EPA says the Volt gets at least 94
miles per gallon.
Advocates ending the federal loan program helping
companies develop and produce efficient cars. [Orange County
Register, 10/24/11]
Supports House passed budget authored by Ryan that
would slash investment in alternatives to gasoline powered cars.
[House Budget Committee, FY 2013]
Gasoline prices
Obama:
Commodity Futures Trading Commission should increase
market oversight of Wall Street speculators who have driven up oil
prices;, increase penalties for illegal activity. Dodd-Frank Wall
Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act includes rules to limit
commodities speculation by Wall Street speculators that do not affect
commercial end users. [CNN, 4/17/12; Media Matters, 4/18/12]
Favors investments in alternatives to gasoline,
including electric vehicles and public transportation. [CAP, 8/28/12;
American Public Transportation Association, 2/13/12]
Romney
Would repeal Dodd Frank and opposes reining in Wall
Street speculators, calling Obama's move "gimmickry."
[MittRomney.com, 4/17/12]
Supports House passed budget authored by Ryan that
would cut Commodity Futures Trading Commission funding by nearly $40
million; cuts would hinder the CFTC's ability to police the oil and
other markets that the Commission oversees.. [House Budget Committee
FY 2013; White House, 4/17/12]
Green jobs
Obama:
Historic level of investment in green jobs sector now
with 3.1 million Americans employed according the Bureau of Labor
Statistics. [AP, 3/22/12]
Romney:
Repeatedly called green jobs "fake," such as calling
them "illusory" in an op-ed on his energy plan. [Orange County
Register, 10/24/11]
"[Obama] keeps talking about green jobs, where are
they?" [OC Register, 10/24/11; League of Conservation
Voters, 9/15/11] The Economic Policy Institute estimates that there
were nearly 1 million clean energy jobs created or saved by the
Recovery Act. [BlueGreen Alliance, 2/17/11] Public lands protection
Obama:
Approved 17 major solar energy installation projects
on public lands that are generating 6,000 megawatts of power; will
expedite permitting process to increase development in Western
states. [Department of Energy, 7/24/12]
Announced he would "allow the development of clean
energy on enough public land to power 3 million homes." [White House,
1/24/12]
Signed a sweeping public lands bill in 2009 that
designated 2 million acres of wilderness and created three national
parks. [AP, 3/31/09]
Used the 1906 Antiquities Act to create three
national monuments - Fort Monroe, Virginia; Fort Ord, California; and
Chimney Rock, Colorado. These monuments will bring tourists and
economic development to these places.. [ClimateProgress, 9/20/12] ]
Romney:
Romney's energy plan would give states the authority
to allow drilling in National Park Service units and other public
lands within state borders. The New York Times noted that "states, as
a rule, tend to be interested mainly in resource development." [NYT,
8/18/12]
The Romney plan significantly increases the
likelihood that drilling could take place in 30 National Park units,
including the Flight 93 Memorial and Everglades National Park.
[Center for American Progress, 9/12/12]
Romney said "I haven't studied [] what the purpose
is of" public lands. But he finds it unacceptable when conservation
is "designed to satisfy, let's say, the most extreme
environmentalists, from keeping a population from developing their
coal, their gold, their other resources for the benefit of the
state." [McClatchy, 2/16/12]
Fully embraced the House passed budget, authored by
Ryan, which would sell off 3.3 millions of acres of national parks
and public lands. [ThinkProgress, 3/21/12]
Climate change
Obama:
"My plan will continue to reduce the carbon pollution
that is heating our planet - because climate change is not a hoax.
More droughts and floods and wildfires are not a joke. They're a
threat to our children's future." [Climate Progress, 9/6/12]
Finalized the first ever carbon pollution reduction
rules for motor vehicles, which will cut carbon pollution from
vehicles built between 2012 and 2025. The standards will slash
billions of tons of carbon pollution. [White House, 8/3/2012]
Proposed the first carbon pollution reduction for new
coal-fired power plants. [NPR, 3/27/12]
State Department is leading a group of countries in a
program that cuts global warming pollutants like soot, methane, and
hydrofluorocarbons. [NYT, 2/16/2012]
Romney:
Romney made fun of President Obama's commitment to
fighting global warming at the Republican National Convention when he
said "I'm not in this race to slow the rise of the oceans or to heal
the planet." [Climate Progress, 9/19/12]
"There remains a lack of scientific consensus on the
issue - on the extent of the warming, the extent of the human
contribution, and the severity of the risk - and I believe we must
support continued debate and investigation within the scientific
community." [NYT, 9/5/2012]
"I oppose steps like a carbon tax or a cap-and-trade
system." [Science Debate.org, 9/4/12]
Says the Clean Air Act doesn't apply to carbon
emissions: "My view is that the EPA in getting into carbon and
regulating carbon has gone beyond the original intent of that
legislation, and I would not take it there." Would overturn Supreme
Court decision by blocking EPA from setting carbon pollution
reduction standards.[Politico, 7/18/11; MittRomney.com, 2012]
Protect public health from mercury, toxic air pollution
Obama:
Finalized historic standard that limits harmful
mercury and air toxic pollution from coal-fired power plants.
Proposed rules to reduce mercury and toxic air pollution from
industrial boilers, incinerators, and cement manufacturing. Together,
these initiatives will result in $187 billion in annual health
benefits and would prevent 21,600 premature deaths, 199,000 cases of
asthma, and 12,540 hospitalizations annually. [CAPAF, 9/18/12]
Proposed Cross-state air pollution rule that would
save up to 34,000 lives, and $280 billion in economic benefits,
annually; rule was struck down in 2-1 federal appeals court decision,
but EPA could appeal. [CAPAF, 9/18/12]
Romney
Would promptly issue an executive order that "directs
all agencies to immediately initiate the elimination of Obama-era
regulations that unduly burden the economy or job creation."
[MittRomney.com, 2011]
"Aggressively" develop all our coal sources. "Coal is
America's most abundant energy source. We have reserves that-at
current rates of uses-will last for the next 200 years of electricity
production in an industry that directly employs perhaps 200,000
workers." [MittRomney.com, 2011]
Against new EPA regulations of harmful mercury and
air pollutants from coal: "I think the EPA has gotten completely out
of control for a very simple reason. It is a tool in the hands of the
president to crush the private enterprise system, to crush our
ability to have energy, whether it's oil, gas, coal, nuclear." [The
Hill, 12/5/11]
Romney's campaign spokesperson falsely claimed that
the mercury pollution-reduction standard "costs more than $1,500 for
every one dollar reduction in mercury pollution." The EPA projects
"that for every dollar spent to reduce pollution, Americans get $3 to
$9 in health benefits in return." [Climate Progress, 8/21/12
Keystone XL pipeline
Obama:
Delayed decision to permit construction of Keystone
XL pipeline in November 2011 until a new route was identified and
evaluated. The original proposed pathway crossed Nebraska's
Sandhills, the recharge zone for the Ogallala Aquifer that supplies
water for nearly one-quarter of American agriculture. Nebraska's
Republican governor Dave Heineman also opposed this route.
President Obama noted that the original route could "affect the
health and safety of the American people as well as the environment."
[White House, 11/10/11; NRDC, 7/11/11; Nebraska Government, 8/11/11]
Congress forced President Obama to decide whether to
approve or deny the Keystone XL in January 2012 before a new route
was selected. He denied it because a new route had not been
identified or analyzed. The president said that "the rushed and
arbitrary deadline insisted on by congressional Republicans prevented
a full assessment of the pipeline's impact, especially the health and
safety of the American people, as well as our environment." [White
House, 1/18/12]
Approved the Cushing, Oklahoma to Gulf of Mexico leg
of Keystone XL in March to address the over stock of oil in Cushing
due to lack of transportation capacity; promised to ensure that
construction and operation will proceed in an environmentally
sensible way. [CAP, 5/5/2012]
Obama will decide whether to approve TransCanada's
new proposed northern pipeline route in 2013, after the Nebraska
state government and the State Department assess the environmental
impacts of the new route. [U.S. Department of State, 5/4/2012]
Romney:
"If I'm President, we'll build it if I have to build
it myself." [Huffington Post, 5/4/12]
Used his first TV ad of the general election to say
he would approve Keystone XL on "day one" if elected. [The Hill,
5/18/12]
Daniel J. Weiss is a Senior Fellow with the Center for American
Progress; Jackie Weidman is a Special Assistant for energy policy at
the Center for American Progress.
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