You decide

Although the economic crisis is center stage these days, global warming will be as crucial an issue for our next president. Barack Obama and John McCain differ substantially on how they would reverse climate change.

As presented at their website, the Obama-Biden plan, “New Energy for America,” will provide short-term relief to American families facing pain at the pump, help create five million new jobs by investing $150 billion over the next 10 years to spur private efforts to build a clean energy future, save more oil than we currently import from the Middle East and Venezuela combined within 10 years, build in America and put on the roads one million plug-in hybrid cars that can get up to 150 miles per gallon, and ensure that 10 percent of our electricity comes from renewable sources by 2012 and 25 percent by 2025.

Obama promises to “Invest in a clean energy economy and help create 5 million new green jobs… that cannot be outsourced” and to “increase fuel economy standards; partner with domestic automakers to retool auto plants and parts manufacturers; promote the supply of domestic energy, set national building efficiency goals to make all new buildings carbon neutral by 2030, implement regular updates for appliance efficiency standards and reduce federal energy consumption.”

Both candidates want the United States to be an international leader in global solutions to climate change. Obama promises “to re-engage with the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, the main international forum dedicated to addressing the problem,” and McCain-Palin plan to “actively engage to lead U.N. negotiations.”

Both candidates support a cap-and-trade system to reduce carbon emissions. In a cap-and-trade system, the government sets an annual limit on carbon emissions and issues permits up to that limit to companies releasing greenhouse gases. If a company reduces its emissions, it can sell or trade its unused permits to a company that can’t meet emission goals.

Obama proposes “to reduce carbon emissions by the amount scientists say is necessary: 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050.”

The McCain-Palin plan will reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 60 percent below 1990 levels by 2050. His website focuses primarily on the details of his cap-and-trade proposal. It states: “The profit motive will coordinate the efforts of venture capitalists, corporate planners, entrepreneurs and environmentalists on the common motive of reducing emissions.”

McCain will establish “a market-based system to curb greenhouse gas emissions, mobilize innovative technologies, and strengthen the economy. He will work with our international partners to secure our energy future, to create opportunities for American industry… ” He will “ensure rapid technology introduction, quickly shifting research from the laboratory to the marketplace.”

Unlike Obama, McCain believes that climate-change policy “must address adaptation,” meaning that the human species must adapt to the warming climate. He states: “An adaptation plan should be based upon national and regional scientific assessments of the impacts of climate change” and “address the full range of issues: infrastructure, ecosystems, resource planning and emergency preparation.”

The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) rates candidates on a scale of 0 to 100 based on the number of Congressional pro-environment votes cast. McCain earned a lifetime score of 26 compared to Obama’s lifetime score of 96. According to the LCV, in 25 years in Congress, McCain voted in favor of the environment 71 times out of a possible 294 pro-environmental votes. Senator Obama supported and co-sponsored pro-environment legislation. As state senator, he earned a 100 percent “Environmental Voting Record Award” from the Illinois Environmental Council in 2003.

Visit the League of Conservation Voters ( lcv.org ) for a point-by-point comparison of the candidates. Also visit each candidate’s website ( johnmccain.com and my.barackobama.com/page/content/newenergy ) for more details about their proposed programs.

Then, vote on November 4!

- Marcia Nehemiah