How the GOP Nominees Rank on Energy and Environment

1 of 9

Ranking the GOP Nominees on Energy & Environment

1 of 10

First Slide

Previous Slide

@

It’s been fascinating to watch the GOP candidates recently. It still mystifies my how a governor who threatened to secede from the union now wants to become president of that same union. And Gov. Rick Perry has the gall to call Ben Bernanke treasonous! If threatening to secede from the union isn’t treason, I’m not sure what is. And let’s not kid ourselves – this wasn’t some “youthful indiscretion.” This was 2010, when Perry was already a long-serving governor. Put another way, could you imagine what would have happened if then-Sen. Barack Obama had uttered sentiments similar to Perry’s? Let’s just say this: President McCain. But really – what matters most to me is how the GOP is lining up on climate change and energy issues. There's a good chance that the name across from Barack Obama on the 2012 ballot for president will be the name of a person who does not believe in human-caused climate change. We might as well have a president that disregards science altogether. Given the floods, fires, wind storms, hurricanes and tornadoes that the United States witnessed in just the last year, it seems there could be no worse time to be ignoring the science. If it matters to you where the Republican presidential nominees stand on energy issues, climate and the environment (including cap-and-trade, a brainchild of the Republican party), here’s my breakdown of the candidates’ positions, ranked from worst to best.

April Britt, Massachusetts Woman, Finds Baby Bird With 2 Heads, 3 Beaks

gadgets/slideshows/223989/slide_223989_930216_small.jpg

Tornado In France: F1 Storm Touches Down South Of Toulouse (VIDEOS)

Exxon Mobil Louisiana Oil Spill Clean Up Begins

Five Natural Sites Where Humans Threaten Biodiversity (PHOTOS)

Dried Salton Sea Could Produce 'Clouds Of Toxic Dust' Under San Diego Water Authority Plan

State Of The Air 2012: American Lung Association Reports Improvements, Challenges

It’s been fascinating to watch the GOP candidates recently. It still mystifies my how a governor who threatened to secede from the union now wants to become president of that same union. And Gov. Rick Perry has the gall to call Ben Bernanke treasonous! If threatening to secede from the union isn’t treason, I’m not sure what is. And let’s not kid ourselves – this wasn’t some “youthful indiscretion.” This was 2010, when Perry was already a long-serving governor.

Put another way, could you imagine what would have happened if then-Sen. Barack Obama had uttered sentiments similar to Perry’s? Let’s just say this: President McCain.

But really – what matters most to me is how the GOP is lining up on climate change and energy issues. There's a good chance that the name across from Barack Obama on the 2012 ballot for president will be the name of a person who does not believe in human-caused climate change. We might as well have a president that disregards science altogether.

Given the floods, fires, wind storms, hurricanes and tornadoes that the United States witnessed in just the last year, it seems there could be no worse time to be ignoring the science.

If it matters to you where the Republican presidential nominees stand on energy issues, climate and the environment (including cap-and-trade, a brainchild of the Republican party), here’s my breakdown of the candidates’ positions, ranked from worst to best.

comments(2)

Total comments: 2 | Post a Comment

1 of 10

Rate this slide: How does this GOP nominee sound t

Rank #2  |  Average: 4

Just Plain Crazy Voice of Reason

• 
  1
• 
  2
• 
  3
• 
  4
• 
  5
• 
  6
• 
  7
• 
  8
• 
  9
• 
  10

Current Top 5 Slides

loading...

Choose your Top 5 Slides

UserName

 | Become a fan

Picked These as the Top 5 Slides in the Slideshow

loading...

Top User Slides

← Prev|Next →

 | Become a fan

Picked These as the Top 5 Slides in the Slideshow

loading...

Users who voted on this slide

← Prev|Next →

loading...

Brian Keane is the President of SmartPower, a non-profit marketing organization funded by private foundations to help build the clean energy marketplace by helping the American public become smarter about their energy use.

 

Follow Brian Keane on Twitter: www.twitter.com/SmartPower_org

Comments

[bfkeane]

10:48 AM on 08/24/2011

Good question, Jester. Studies show that farm subsidies are detrimental to the environment because they encourage overproduction, excessive pesticide use, etc. (http://www.ncpa.org/pub/ba547), thus making it an important topic to consider when talking about Ron Paul's environmental stance because this is a case where perhaps the conservative idea of small government can benefit the environment.

[Jester2069]

01:42 PM on 08/23/2011

Decent review of the candidates' stances. Not 5 stars, but meh. 4/5.

I do have one serious question, though: why does "Farm subsidies are bad." factor into Ron Paul's environmental stance?

Is the writer thinking about ethanol instead? I sure hope not, and it's worth noting that most farm subsidies are paid to large farms despite their intended target being smaller ones. (Oh, and said subsidies are paid regardless of economic need.)