Democratic Presidential Candidates On Energy
I've been following the Presidential primary season very closely ... mainly because I'm a dork & a wannabe wonk, but also because I think it's a crucial election for the country. Obviously, we have an incredible number of problems in the US ... I happen to think energy is the biggest of the lot (which is really saying something when you think about it).
On the Democratic side, it's difficult to know where Clinton, Obama & Edwards stand on energy because, well, it's difficult to know where they stand on anything. Our media coverage is not conducive to issues-based news reporting & the debates aren't satisfactory either. How about picking a topic and letting the candidates truly debate that topic (by asking & answering each other's questions) for 30 minutes. Why do we need moderators? Did Lincoln & Douglas use moderators? And those were known as great debates: informative, entertaining, enlightening & helpful in deciding who has better positions on issues that matter. They were substantive, meaty; they were real, something that is sorely missing in today's operating environment.
Anyway, over at Grist, there is a page that helps us get at least some sense of the positions of the various candidates with respect to energy. There are a few different topics: Cap&Trade, Renewable Energy, Biofuels, Coal, etc. & then a blurb summarizing the candidate's position on each topic.
They also cover the Republican side, but since I don't like their candidates, I'll take a pass.
In a nutshell, there is not much difference between the 3 leading Dem candidates on energy (from this high-level perspective). The single biggest difference appears to be on nuclear energy. Edwards is against it, Obama supports it & Clinton is "agnostic" ... which really means she is against it for the time being.
So, if you were wondering where the Dems stand on energy ... they stand together with the exception of nuclear, which Obama thinks is a good idea & the other 2 want to stay away from. Personally, I think Obama wins; nuclear in tandem with plug-in hybrid vehicles would go a long way towards reducing our use of liquid hydrocarbons for transportation. I don't know if that's Obama's vision for nuclear energy, but I hope that's how he sees the situation.
