Toeing the Green Line: McCain v. Obama on Other Environmental Issues
photo: David Katz/Obama for America
Barack Obama on Other Green Issues
Establishing the same baseline as John McCain, according to the League of Conservation Voters, Barack Obama in his admittedly shorter political career scores quite a bit better on voting in favor of environmental measures LCV believes to the be important: Barack Obama’s lifetime environmental voting record receives a score of 96 out of 100. (LCV)
Water At Top of Agenda
When Discover magazine asked Barack Obama how he would protect the nation’s freshwater supplies, this was his response:
Water quality and availability are critical issues for America and the world. An Obama administration will put water issues—both quantity and quality—at the top of our environmental agenda.My family and I have lived near one of the world’s most precious freshwater treasures, Lake Michigan, for nearly 20 years. I understand how clean water can make a difference in people’s lives and a community’s economic health. I have seen beaches close because of pollution. As a result, I worked to understand and address the root causes of beach closings, including polluted runoff and sewage overflows that limit the time families can spend along some of our most treasured coasts.
It’s time to revitalize the Clean Water Act. I am troubled by recent court rulings that have confused rather than clarified federal jurisdiction over “waters of the United States,†including environmentally sensitive wetlands critical to maintaining supplies of clean freshwater. I will support efforts to ensure that federal protection of the nation’s waters is strengthened, not weakened. As president, I will also work to restore funding to the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) and other programs aimed at improving the quality of our nation’s lakes, rivers, and drinking water. (Discover Magazine)
Transportation & Fuel Efficiency
Comparing where Obama’s policy deviates most substantially for that of John McCain brings us to fuel economy standards and how to bring electric vehicles to the roads of the United States most quickly.
On fuel economy standards (all from from New Energy for America):
Barack Obama and Joe Biden will increase fuel economy standards 4 percent per each year while protecting the financial future of domestic automakers. The plan, which will save nearly a half trillion gallons of gasoline and 6 billion metric tons of greenhouse gases, will establish concrete targets for annual fuel efficiency increases while giving industry the flexibility to meet those targets.
On working with automakers to facilitate this:
Barack Obama and Joe Biden will also provide $4 billion retooling tax credits and loan guarantees for domestic auto plants and parts manufacturers, so that the new fuelâ€efficient cars can be built in the U.S. by American workers rather than overseas. This measure will strengthen the U.S. manufacturing sector and help ensure that American workers will build the highâ€demand cars of the future.
On getting electric vehicles on the roads:
As a U.S. senator, Barack Obama has led efforts to jumpstart federal investment in advanced vehicles, including combined plugâ€in hybrid/flexible fuel vehicles, which can get over 150 miles per gallon of gas As president, Obama will continue this leadership by investing in advanced vehicle technology with a specific focus on R&D; in advanced battery technology. The increased federal funding will leverage private sector funds and support our domestic automakers to bring plugâ€in hybrids and other advanced vehicles to American consumers. Barack Obama and Joe Biden will also provide a $7,000 tax credit for the purchase of advanced technology vehicles as well as conversion tax credits. And to help create a market and show government leadership in purchasing highly efficient cars, Barack Obama and Joe Biden will commit to: 1) Within one year of becoming President, the entire White House fleet will be converted to plugâ€ins as security permits; and 2) Half of all cars purchased by the federal government will be plugâ€in hybrids or allâ€electric by 2012
Energy Efficiency Improvements
The Obama campaign has fleshed out their position on improving overall efficient use of energy to a greater degree than has the McCain campaign:
On energy efficient buildings,
Barack Obama and Joe Biden will establish a goal of making all new buildings carbon neutral, or produce zero emissions, by 2030. They will also establish a national goal of improving new building efficiency by 50 percent and existing building efficiency by 25 percent over the next decade to help us meet the 2030 goal.Currently, the federal government is the world’s largest single consumer of energy in the world, spending approximately $14.5 billion on energy consumption in FY 2008. Barack Obama and Joe Biden believe in the importance of leading by example. They will make the federal government a leader in the green building market, achieving a 40 percent increase in efficiency in all new federal buildings within five years and ensuring that all new federal buildings are zeroâ€emissions by 2025. They will invest in costâ€effective retrofits to achieve a 25 percent increase in efficiency of existing federal buildings within 5 years. The Obama†Biden plan will put forward the resources necessary to achieve a 15 percent reduction in federal energy consumption by 2015. (New Energy for America)
On assistance to homeowners to make efficiency improvements,
In the struggle with higher energy prices low income families are suffering the most and receiving the least attention. Across the nation, poor families this winter will increasingly face the choice between heating and eating as prices for natural gas, heating oil, propane and electricity skyrocket. To address the immediate challenge this winter, we must fully fund LIHEAP and ensure that everyone who needs it has access to heating assistance.Over the longerâ€term, a significant part of the answer for low income families is home weatherization. By upgrading a home’s furnace, sealing leaky ducts, fixing windows, and adding insulation we can cut energy bills by 20 †40 percent and the substantial savings accrue with summer air conditioning as well as winter heating. And by adding energy efficient appliances and lighting the savings are even greater. While the nation has weatherized about 5.5 million low income homes since 1976, more than 28 million remain eligible. Barack Obama and Joe Biden will make a national commitment to weatherize at least one million lowâ€income homes each year for the next decade, which can reduce energy usage across the economy and help moderate energy prices for all. (New Energy for America)
Recycling & Waste Reduction
Discover Magazine also asked Barack Obama about how he would deal with hazardous waste, increasing incentives for manufacturers to make environmentally friendly products, and how we should reduce waste in general. This was his response:


Waste—household and hazardous—represents an ongoing challenge to the United States. I believe we need incentives to minimize waste production and promote much more recycling. We can do this by more aggressively using the federal laws that regulate waste disposal and product manufacture so that we use fewer toxic chemicals, generate less manufacturing waste, and reduce packaging materials. We can also challenge manufacturers of computers, printers, and other 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. (Discover Magazine)
Sustainable Communities
One area which Obama has addressed, and on which McCain has been more or less silent, is on changing the civic development patterns of the United States in order to facilitate a less energy intense future. In his New Energy for America plan he speaks on this issue:
Over the long term, we know that the amount of fuel we will use is directly related to our land use decisions and development patterns. For the last 100 years, our communities have been organized around the principle of cheap gasoline. Barack Obama and Joe Biden believe that we must devote substantial resources to repairing our roads and bridges. They also believe that we must devote significantly more attention to investments that will make it easier for us to walk, bicycle and access other transportation alternatives. They are committed to reforming the federal transportation funding and leveling employer incentives for driving and public transit.
What’s missing in either campaign?
