President Obama and Governor Romney agree that the U.S. is too dependent
on foreign oil. But their views differ significantly on how to reduce or
even end that dependence to make the country energy self-sufficient.
President Obama has been a champion of expanding renewable energy
sources, such as wind and solar power, which he says hold great promise.
Mitt Romney is a proponent of raising production levels of America's own
fossil fuels, including coal, which the U.S. has in abundance.
The Center for Climate and Energy solutions published a voter guide to
the candidates' energy policy positions.
"I think Governor Romney has focused more on supply, particularly of
conventional fuels such as oil and coal," notes Manik Roy, vice
president for the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions. "President
Obama, while I think he's also interested in supply - we saw the back
and forth in the second debate on drilling - President Obama in addition
has focused on clean energy technologies and reducing demand for oil."
The two candidates debated whose policy was more effective in reducing
America's dependence on foreign oil. The protection and creation of jobs
was another key issue, in a slow economic recovery with unemployment
near eight percent.
"We've also got to look to the future," said Obama at the November 17
debate. "That's why we doubled fuel efficiency standards on cars. That
means that in the middle of the next decade, any car you buy, you're
going to end up going twice as far on a gallon of gas. That's why we've
doubled clean energy production like wind and solar and biofuels. And
all these things have contributed to us lowering our oil imports to the
lowest levels in 16 years. We've got potentially 600,000 jobs and a
hundred years' worth of energy right beneath our feet with natural gas.
And we can do it in an environmentally sound way."
At that same debate Mitt Romney countered that while renewable energy
sources are helpful, the United States needs to full exploit is full
fossil energy potential.
"But what we don't need is to have the president keeping us from taking
advantage of oil, coal and gas. This [president] has not been Mr. Oil or
Mr. Gas or Mr. Coal. Talk to the people that are working in those
industries. I was in coal country. People grabbed my arms and say,
please, save my job. The head of the EPA said, you can't build a coal
plant. If we do what I am planning on doing, which is getting us
energy-independent - North American energy independence within eight
years - you're going to see manufacturing jobs come back because our
energy is low-cost."
According to the Department of Energy, the U.S. imported less than half
of the petroleum it consumed last year, down from 60 percent 6 years
ago.
Gasoline consumption has dropped to its lowest level in ten years.
Production of U.S. oil rose during the Obama administration, but not as
much as Governor Romney would like.
President Obama postponed approval of extending the Keystone pipeline
from Canada, requiring more environmental impact studies. Governor
Romney blames rising U.S. gas prices on that delay.
So what influence does any president have on production and gas prices
in a global oil market?
"On the creation of energy, the drilling of oil - I think it's
relatively limited," added Roy. "That happens largely in the private
market, it happens largely in an international market. We have a small
fraction of the world's energy reserves here. Even if we greatly
expanded it [production], it would be a drop in the global bucket."
In the last five years, advances in hydraulic fracturing technology have
revealed an abundance of natural gas in the U.S. Production has surged,
and costs have plummeted.
Fracturing now produces nearly as much electricity as coal at lower
cost. Both President Obama and Governor Romney support exploiting this
vast resource, despite environmental risks.
The
candidates differ over the portion of renewable resources should have in
the United States' energy mix. President Obama has spent $90 billion in
grants and loan guarantees for clean energy companies. Obama also wants
Congress to extend tax credits for wind energy, while Governor Romney
does not.
"The president is more activist in promoting future technologies," noted
Roy. "I think the governor would love to see future technologies done as
well too, but he has a more limited view of the appropriate role of the
federal government, which would be to invest in research and development
rather than deployment. The president says research and development, but
deployment also."
So what do people want? According to some polls, says Roy, they want it
all: low prices, jobs, self-sufficiency, and respect for the
environment.
