Different Shades of Green: The Energy Policies of Obama and McCain

The Wall Street Journal analyzes the contrasting energy policies of U.S. presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama and concludes that while both tout themselves as environmentally friendly, their administrations would pursue very different approaches. Both candidates talk about reducing America’s dependence on foreign oil and combating global warming. But McCain does not favor using large government subsidies to stimulate development of renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind. He does, however, support increasing federal financial incentives for nuclear power. In contrast, Obama favors spending $150 billion in federal funds over the next decade to spur research and development of alternative energy technologies. He supports a larger role for nuclear power, which now provides about 20 percent of the U.S.’s electricity, but says no such expansion should take place until the country comes up with a safe, long-term solution to disposing of nuclear waste.