Candidates on the Issues

Source:Grist Website: Compare the Candidates

Nader
Obama
McCain

 

Nader - Key Points

• Supports a carbon tax to make polluting fuels and technology more expensive, but hasn't released details of his plan.
• Calls for phasing out all fossil fuels within 20 to 25 years -- coal and oil first, then natural gas.
• Supports raising vehicle fuel-economy standards. In 2000 and 2004, called for increasing standards for cars to 45 miles per gallon and light trucks to 35 mpg, to be phased in over five years.
• Supports solar, wind, tidal, and other sources of renewable power.
• Opposes corn-based ethanol, but supports cellulosic ethanol and other forms of biomass that produce significantly more energy than they consume over their lifecycles.
• Opposes nuclear power, as well as government subsidies and loan guarantees for the nuclear industry.
• Helped form many public-interest nonprofit groups, such as the Public Interest Research Groups (PIRGs), Critical Mass Energy Project, Center for Study of Responsive Law, Public Citizen, and the Center for Auto Safety. Some of these groups then contributed to the birth of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and lobbied Congress [PDF] to implement fuel-economy regulations for vehicles and enact the Superfund law.
• Along with the advocacy groups he helped form, Nader contributed to the creation of many important environmental and consumer-protection laws, including the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the Wholesome Meat Act, the Whistleblower Protection Act, and the Freedom of Information Act.
• Chose as his running mate Matt Gonzalez, a former Green Party member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.

Top

 

Obama - Key Points

• Calls for cutting U.S. carbon dioxide emissions 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050. Would accomplish this through a cap-and-trade system that would auction off 100 percent of emissions permits, making polluters pay for the CO2 they emit. 
• Would channel revenue raised from auctioning emissions permits -- between $30 billion and $50 billion a year -- toward developing and deploying clean energy technology, creating "green jobs," and helping low-income Americans afford higher energy bills.
• Calls for 25 percent of U.S. electricity to come from renewable sources by 2025, and for 30 percent of the federal government's electricity to come from renewables by 2020.
• Proposes investing $150 billion over 10 years in R&D for renewables, biofuels, efficiency, "clean coal," and other clean tech.
• Calls for improving energy efficiency in the U.S. 50 percent by 2030.
• Calls for 36 billion gallons of biofuels to be used in the U.S. each year by 2022 and 60 billion gallons of biofuels to be used in the U.S. each year by 2030.
• Calls for all new buildings in the U.S. to be carbon neutral by 2030.
• Calls for reducing U.S. oil consumption by at least 35 percent, or 10 million barrels a day, by 2030.
• Introduced the Health Care for Hybrids Act, which would have the federal government help cover health-care costs for retired U.S. autoworkers in exchange for domestic auto companies investing at least 50 percent of the savings into production of more fuel-efficient vehicles.
• Supports raising fuel-economy standards for automobiles to 40 miles per gallon and light trucks to 32 mpg by 2020.
• Supports a phaseout of incandescent light bulbs by 2014. 
• Cosponsor of the Coal-to-Liquid Fuel Promotion Act. After being badgered by MoveOn and other progressives over the issue, he "clarified" his position by saying he would support liquefied coal only if it emitted 20 percent less carbon over its lifecycle than conventional fuels.
• Has been endorsed by Friends of the Earth Action, in part for his opposition to a summer "gas-tax holiday" that McCain and Clintonsupport. (FoE Action had previously endorsed John Edwards.)

Top

 

McCain - Key Points

• Has said global warming would be one of three key issues for his presidency.
• His cap-and-trade plan for fighting climate change calls for gradual reductions in U.S. greenhouse-gas emissions from utilities, transportation fuels, and large businesses, with a target of cutting emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, and 60 percent below 1990 levels by 2050.
• Cosponsored the first bill in the Senate calling for mandatory reductions of greenhouse-gas emissions, in 2003. The 2007 version, the Climate Stewardship and Innovation Act, is less stringent than many other climate bills currently in Congress. It would cap global-warming emissions from utilities, industry, and transport at 2004 levels by 2012 and then gradually decrease emissions to about 30 percent of 2004 levels by 2050.
• Has been an outspoken critic of the Bush administration's lack of action against climate change.
• Believes the U.S. should embrace nuclear power as a way to generate energy without directly producing greenhouse-gas emissions. His climate plan would take some of the money raised from auctioning emission allowances and make it available for nuclear power R&D.
• In April 2008, began advocating for a summer "gas-tax holiday" to ease consumer prices at the pump. The proposal would suspend the 18-cent federal gasoline tax and 24-cent diesel tax from Memorial Day to Labor Day and cost the government some $10 billion. 
• Wants to " find a way to use our coal resources without emitting excessive greenhouse gases," and supports public-private partnerships to develop high-tech systems for coal gasification and carbon capture and storage.
• Used to criticize ethanol; now lauds ethanol, but still opposes government subsidies for it.
• Has opposed drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
• Has been endorsed by Republicans for Environmental Protection for his climate policies.

Top

Home