INFORM - At the Intersection of Environment and Politics

At the Intersection of Environment and Politics
Senators John McCain and Barack Obama on Environmental Issues

Obama vs. McCain

In the next few weeks, the most scrutinized presidential election campaign in the history of the United States will come to an end. The two candidates, Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama, both support instrumental policies that will have wide-ranging impacts in the national and international arenas. Although both candidates have our country’s best interests at heart, each has a different agenda, especially when it comes to the environment. Be an INFORMed voter on November 4^th - Read our quick facts about McCain and Obama’s environmental platforms.

Climate Change | Alternative Energy | Water Supply | Hazardous Waste Management | Oil Drilling

On Climate Change

Barrack Obama

Call for cutting US carbon dioxide emissions 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050. Accomplish this through an economy-wide cap-and-trade system that would auction off 100 percent of emissions permits, making polluters pay for the CO2 they emit.
Channel revenue raised from auctioning emissions toward developing and deploying clean energy technology, creating “green jobs,” and helping low-income Americans afford higher energy bills.
Call for all new buildings in the US to be carbon neutral by 2030
Develop domestic incentives that reward forest owners, farmers, and ranchers when they plant trees, restore grasslands, or undertake farming practices that capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Restore US leadership in strategies for combating climate change: Re-engage with the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) - focus exclusively on global energy and environmental issues.
Work closely with the international community: Create Technology Transfer Program to export climate-friendly technologies to developing countries to help them combat climate change.

John McCain

Submit to Congress a cap-and-trade system to set clear limits on all greenhouse-gas emissions. Emissions caps are reached by measuring progress with reference to past carbon emissions. By the year 2012, seek a return to 2005 levels of emission; by 2020, a return to 1990 levels; and so on until a reduction of at least 60 percent below 1990 levels by the year 2050 is achieved.
Strengthen the penalties for violating CAFE standards, and make certain they are effectively enforced.
Establish a permanent research and development tax credit equal to ten percent of wages spent on R&D, to open the door to a new generation of environmental entrepreneurs.
Issue a Clean Car Challenge to automakers, in the form of a tax incentive for every automaker who can sell a zero-emission vehicle. Commit up to a 5,000 dollar tax credit to those who buy that car.
$300 million prize for the development of a battery package that has the capacity, cost and power to leapfrog the plug-in hybrids or electric cars.
Continue to support the US Global Change Research Program and ensure that the program’s activities support the nation’s needs for climate related information.

On Alternative Energy

Barrack Obama

Call for 25 percent of US electricity to come from renewable sources by 2025, and for 30 percent of the federal government’s electricity to come from renewable sources by 2020.
Invest $150 billion over 10 years to advance the next generation of biofuels (like cellulosic ethanol) and fuel infrastructure, promote development of commercial-scale renewable energy, invest in low-emissions coal plants- “clean coal,” and begin the transition to a new digital electricity grid.
Double science and research funding for clean-energy projects, including those that make use of biomass, solar, and wind resources.
Create a Clean Technologies Venture Capital Fund to create a $10 billion (per year for 5 years) to bolster clean technology development.
Plan to build 45 new nuclear reactors by 2030 to meet the growing energy demand and reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.

John McCain

Encourage the market for alternative, low-carbon energy sources as well as wind, hydro, and solar power.
Support for sources of energy in the form of permanent credits that are fair, level, and rational, letting the market decide which ideas can move us toward clean and renewable energy.
Commit two billion dollars each year, until 2024, to clean-coal research, development, and deployment.
Streamline regulations and effectively protect American intellectual property in the United States and around the globe.
Appoint a Science and Technology Advisor within the White House to ensure that the role of science and technology in policies is fully recognized and leveraged, that policies will be based upon sound science, and that the scientific integrity of federal research is restored.
Plan to build 45 new reactors by the year 2030 and set the goal of 100 new plants to power the homes, factories and cities of America.

On Water Supply

Barrack Obama

Revitalize the Clean Water Act (1972).
Restore funding to the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) and other programs aimed at improving the quality of US lakes, rivers, and drinking water.
Set prices and policies with incentives to use water efficiently and avoid waste.
Provide information, training, and economic assistance to farms and businesses that need to shift to more efficient water practices.

John McCain

Maintain Clean Water Act (1972).
Support conservation and negotiation on a federal and state level.
Develop policies that provide necessary protection of our aquatic resources, build strong and lasting partnerships, and respect local conditions and needs.
Effective coastal zone and watershed management, water pollution management, more effective fisheries management, and addressing issues like invasive aquatic species to agricultural runoff.

On Hazardous Waste Management

Barrack Obama

Stress the need for incentives to minimize waste production, promote recycling, use fewer toxic chemicals, generate less manufacturing waste, and reduce packaging materials and enforce federal laws to regulate waste disposal.
Encourage manufacturers of electronic equipment to more effectively take back these products when they are discarded so that their components can be reused rather than shipped to landfills.

John McCain

The government, as the largest consumer of electricity, must lead by example and set higher efficiency standards in new building construction and renovations.
Encourage construction market to move into green technology while lowering waste and consumption.

On Oil Drilling

Barrack Obama

Call for reducing US oil consumption by at least 35 percent, or 10 million barrels a day, by 2030.
Opposes efforts such as offshore drilling and gas tax holidays which pander to Big Oil. In 2006, Senator Obama rejects efforts to open up 8 million acres off the coasts of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana for drilling.
Willing to compromise over his earlier opposition to an expansion of oil drilling in US offshore waters if it were part of a more overarching strategy to lower energy costs.

John McCain

End a 27-year ban on offshore drilling to decrease dependence on foreign oil.
Tap into the United States' vast natural gas and oil supply
Continued protection of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Lift moratorium on oil exploration on Outer Continental Shelf.
Rejection of a windfall-profits tax on oil companies.