The Truth About Renewable Energy

Barack Obama has made a $150 billion renewable energy plan the backbone of his energy and economic plans. He claims it could produce millions of jobs making energy efficiency upgrades in homes across America, and building renewable energy equipment and infrastructure.

John McCain, in an advertisement touting his economic ideas in Ohio, echoed some of those concepts in a section on renewable energy:

But FactCheck.org says McCain does "little to support" his claims about creating new jobs in the renewable energy sector:

In fact, his energy plan doesn't specify any new federal spending for renewable energy and says only that he'd "rationalize" existing tax credits to provide incentives. In the past, however, he's opposed extending such tax credits when paid for by tax increases elsewhere.

More about this ad from Factcheck.org.

The Daily Green's Take

Leading thinkers are framing energy policy as the backbone of the nation's future. There's a choice to be made:

• Innovate, create new jobs, export technology, stop supporting "petrodictatorships" and address global warming by investing heavily and strategically in renewable energy technology

... or ...

• Keep drilling for oil, keep burning coal, keep warming the climate and keep stalling as some other country makes the investments that put it on top of a low-carbon world economy.

Neither candidate has a strangle hold on this issue. Both candidates pay homage to coal, and at give at least grudging support for corn-based ethanol. Nuclear power is likely part of any effective energy policy that tackles global warming, and while McCain embraces it whole hog, Obama is lukewarm because of its serious drawbacks (primarily its immortal radioactive waste).

But Obama puts renewable energy investments and energy efficiency, and the jobs that come with them, at the core of his energy and economic policies. McCain puts offshore oil drilling and corporate tax breaks. McCain's ad would have people thinking otherwise.

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