These are some of the snippets I’ve taken from television interviews and from my own video interviews:
Obama:
* Invest $150 billion in alternative energy
* willing to do some offshore drilling, but against offshore & ANWR oil drilling
* Wants windfall profit’s tax on oil companies – Barack Obama and Joe Biden will require oil
companies to take a reasonable share of their record-breaking windfall profit’s and use it to
provide direct relief worth $500 for an individual and $1,000 for a married couple.
* Wants comprehensive Manhattan-style project that “by 2020 we will have dramatic reductions in fossil fuels” – includes conservation, fuel efficiency, dramatic efforts to promote renewable energy biomass, alternative energies, drill more, refine more. (per Bill Richardson on CNN’s Larry King)
McCain:
* Wants to get rid of all earmarks on the federal budget – Sarah Palin believes earmarks are okay as long as they are “transparent”, meaning the Congressperson’s name is on the earmark.
* Does not want windfall profit’s tax on oil companies
* Wants a “break” on a federal gas tax
* Wants to lift offshore drilling ban, and drill in Alaska, and offshore drilling. does not want to drill in the Artic
* Advocates Nuclear power
* Promotes clean coal technology (with CO2 sequestration) and would give $2 billion for clean coal
“increasing domestic production, which Obama does not have, nor does Obama have Nuclear or coal in his portfolio” (per Nancy Pfotenhauer, Sr. McCain adviser, on CNN’s Larry King)
Below are snippets from Obama and McCain’s websites that outline their thoughts on automobiles and energy:
Cap-and-trade:
Obama:
Barack Obama and Joe Biden will use a portion of the revenue generated from the cap-and-trade permit auction to make investments that will reduce the dependence on foreign oil and accelerate deployment of low-carbon technologies. The investments will focus on three critical areas: 1) Basic Research; 2) Technology Demonstration and 3) Aggressive Commercial Deployment and Clean Market Creation. They expect this to Create 5 Million New Jobs
McCain:
Emissions Permit’s Will Eventually Be Auctioned To Support The Development Of Advanced Technologies. A portion of the process of these auctions will be used to support a diversified portfolio of research and commercialization challenges, ranging from carbon capture and sequestration to nuclear power, to battery development. Funds will also be used to provide financial backing for a Green Innovation Financing and Transfer (GIFT) to facilitate commercialization.
CAFE:
Obama:
Increase Fuel Economy Standards. Barack Obama and Joe Biden will increase fuel economy standards 4 percent per each year while protecting the financial future of domestic automakers. The plan, which will save nearly a half-trillion gallons of gasoline and 6 billion metric tons of greenhouse gases, will establish concrete targets for annual fuel efficiency increases while giving industry the flexibility to meet those targets.
McCain:
John McCain will effectively enforce existing CAFE standards. John McCain has long supported CAFE standards — the mileage requirements that automobile manufacturers’ cars must meet. Some carmakers ignore these standards, pay a small financial penalty, and add it to the price of their cars. John McCain believes that the penalties for not following these standards must be effective enough so that all carmakers have an incentive to produce fuel-efficient vehicles.
Oil/gasoline:
Obama:
Barack Obama and Joe Biden will implement a strategy that will within 10 years allow us to reduce our consumption of oil by more than we currently import from the Middle East and Hugo Chavez’s Venezuela combined.
A “Use it or Lose It” Approach to Existing Leases. Oil companies have access to 68 million acres of land, over 40 million offshore, which they are not drilling on. Drilling in open areas could significantly increase domestic oil and gas production. Barack Obama and Joe Biden will require oil companies to diligently develop these leases or turn them over so that another company can develop them.
McCain:
But a broad federal moratorium stands in the way of energy exploration and production of another 18 billion barrels of oil. It is time for the federal government to lift these restrictions and to put our own reserves to use.
When politicians threaten to renegotiate NAFTA unilaterally, they threaten to disrupt relations between the United States and our most stable and friendly providers of oil.
Advanced technology for cars:
Obama:
Obama will invest in advanced vehicle technology with a specific focus on R & D in advanced battery technology. The increased federal funding will leverage private sector funds and support our domestic automakers to bring plug-in hybrids and other advanced vehicles to American consumers. Barack Obama and Joe Biden will also provide a $7,000 tax credit for the purchase of advanced technology vehicles as well as conversion tax credits. And to help create a market and show government leadership in purchasing highly efficient cars, Barack Obama and Joe Biden will commit to:
* Within one year of becoming President, the entire White House fleet will be converted to
plug-ins as security permit’s; and
* Half of all cars purchased by the federal government will be plug-in hybrids or all-electric
by 2012
* Mandate All New Vehicles are Flexible Fuel Vehicles – Barack Obama and Joe Biden will work with Congress and auto companies to ensure that all new vehicles have FFV capability “the capability by the end of his first term in office.”
McCain:
American automakers have committed to making 50 percent of their cars FFVs by 2012. John McCain calls on automakers to make a more rapid and complete switch to FFVs.
John McCain will issue A Clean Car Challenge. John McCain will issue a Clean Car Challenge to the automakers of America, in the form of a single and substantial tax credit based on the reduction of carbon emissions. For every automaker who can sell a zero-emissions car, John McCain will commit a $5,000 tax credit for each and every customer who buys that car. For other vehicles, whatever type they may be, the lower the carbon emissions, the higher the tax credit.
Tax Credits for auto manufacturers:
Obama:
Partner with Domestic Automakers. Barack Obama and Joe Biden will also provide $4 billion retooling tax credit’s and loan guarantees for domestic auto plants and parts manufacturers so that the new fuel-efficient cars can be built in the U.S. by American workers rather than overseas.
McCain:
John McCain Will Propose A $300 Million Prize To Improve Battery Technology For Full Commercial Development Of Plug-In Hybrid And Fully Electric Automobiles. A $300 million prize should be awarded for the development of a battery package that has the size, capacity, cost, and power to leapfrog the commercially available plug-in hybrids or electric cars. That battery should deliver a power source at 30 percent of the current costs. At $300 million, the prize is one dollar for every man, woman, and child in this country — and a small price to pay for breaking our dependence on oil.
Biofuels:
Obama:
Barack Obama and Joe Biden will require at least 60 billion gallons of advanced biofuels by 2030. They will invest federal resources, including tax incentives and government contracts into developing the most promising technologies and building the infrastructure to support them.
McCain:
The second generation of alcohol-based fuels like cellulosic ethanol, which won’t compete with food crops, are showing great potential.
* Today, Isolationist Tariffs And Wasteful Special Interest Subsidies Are Not Moving Us Toward An Energy Solution. We need to level the playing field and eliminate mandates, subsidies, tariffs and price supports that focus exclusively on corn-based ethanol and prevent the development of market-based solutions which would provide us with better options for our fuel needs.
Resources:
CNN and CNN’s Larry King show
CBS News
James Woolsey video interview on carlist.com
CNBC’s power lunch
barackobama.com
johnmccain.com
James Woolsey on earmarks
James Woolsey on Obama vs. McCain
James Woolsey on Carter vs. McCain
James Woolsey on energy and politics
Conclusion of John McCain and Joe Lieberman Q and A at the auto show
More Q and A with McCain and Lieberman at the Detroit auto show
John McCain at the 2008 Detroit Auto Show
