AltEnToday

You can barely turn on the news today without realizing two things:

1. There are a lot of energy commercials on TV right now… I’ll cover that more in the future.
2. The news media really can’t get enough of the upcoming November presidential election.

In the context of our forthcoming political showdown, I wanted to take a moment to really compare and contrast what the two candidates stand for - in the context of the future of alternative energy, what it means for domestic agenda, international agenda, and of course - taxes. Unless otherwise specified, my sources here include JohnMcCain.com and BarackObama.com [side note here... I'll do much further research in to each candidate as information emerges, but I figured this might make a good starting point... sorry for it's incompleteness and/or inaccuracy]

Cap and Trade

Both candidates appear to support an open, free market, cap-and-trade system. Essentially, this provides a market force to offset impending greenhouse gas emissions standards that will be put in place in the near future. McCain is aiming for a standard where greenhouse gas emissions will be 60% of 1990 standards by 2050, while Obama is aiming for 80% by that time. Of course, that’s far outside their political time-frame, so looking at what they’ve got planned for 2008-2012, McCain is aiming to maintain 2005 levels, while Obama doesn’t have short-term goals defined on his website.

Alternative Energy Subsidies / Programs

Barack Obama outlines that he will provide $150 billion in clean energy investments over the next 10 years. Some of the highlights of his proposal includes funds to:

• Advance “the next generation of biofuels”
• Accelerate the commercialization of plug-in hybrids
• Invest in low-emissions coal plants

Obama proposes to double the current budget for alternative energy research - no specific number was cited. He also proposes that the federal government get in to the venture capital business by funding a $10 billion per year, 5-year VC fund working with existing fund managers and national laboratories.

McCain, by contrast, does not have significant plans for alternative energy projects in the form of federal programs or subsidies to emerging technologies. The bulk of his energy plan appears to center around allowing the market to play out as it will, and to support the production and development of greater domestic nuclear-energy infrastructure. This includes tackling issues such streamlining the nuclear energy approval process, as well as providing federal assistance to the states for the maintenance and upkeep of nuclear waste sites.

Ultimately, McCain’s position appears to be that energy independence is important not for environmental or necessarily economics sake, but rather to emphasize the growing dependence upon “the most stagnant societies on Earth” (speaking specifically about not only Middle Eastern oil sources, but also Venezuela and Russia). He states that oil is used as a “geopolitical weapon” by those nations and regions that may not necessarily have America’s best interests in mind.

Gas Taxes

McCain has taken a stand in supporting a “summer gas tax holiday” that would presumably ease tensions at the pump by as much as 18.4 cents during the periods between Memorial Day and Labor Day (essentially, end of May through the beginning of September). Obama opposes this technique.

Mandates and Agenda Items

Obama has set out to mandate that by 2025 (17 years from now), 25% of electricity consumed in the United States will come from renewable sources - wind, solar, and geothermal. McCain has no simliar agenda in place. His fundamental stance on the issues appears to be to continue to allow the market to determine the appropriate mixture of energy sources, and to open up opportunities for increased fuel excavation (including increased off-shore drilling).

Commentary

Our current energy policies are fine in a world based in 1980’s and ’90’s gas prices. That paradigm has changed, especially if we consider that Hubbert’s Peak may be hitting as we speak. With this in mind, this election will provide both parties the opportunity to increase alternative-energy development - for the sake of the nation’s economic as well as security well-being.

Both candidates appear to have a similar outlook of the future - reduced consumption from international fuel sources, and greater self-reliance on renewable and alternative fuel sources. Between Obama and McCain, the difference ultimately comes down to your preference between government management of these objectives, or free-market (non-interventionist) management. If you believe that the government must be involved to impose the change on the industries and economics involved, your alternative-energy vote will likely support Obama. If, on the other hand, you believe that the government should not be directly involved in shifting our energy portfolio other than in a meaningful regulatory way, your alternative energy vote will likely fall to McCain.