Second Presidential Debate: Who will hurt the environment more?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/16/presidential-debate-energy_n_1972335.html
Energy Facts, And A Few Fibs, On Display At Presidential Debate

In the Huffington Post about the second presidential debate between Romney and Obama, Tom Zeller Jr. discusses the energy policies both candidates may impose during their term. Romney is pro-oil, while Obama is pro-efficiency and clean energy.

During the debate, Obama said that his policies on the standards of fuel economy will allow cars to have twice the fuel efficiency that they have now by 2025. However, Romney said that he would roll back existing standards that would have allowed cars to reach over 35 miles per gallon by 2016. So far, Romney is not doing a good job at keeping our environment well.

In regards to oil production, 241 million more barrels of oil were produced under Obama's term, which is good, since the oil would have been produced sometime in the future anyways, and with this increased production we will be able to use less foreign oil and use more of our own, allowing us to become more energy independent.

source:  airideal.wordpress.com

source: zmescience.com

Romney's plan is to increase states rights with regards to their land, which would almost certainly increase the chance of exploitation of land by fossil fuel prospectors. He would also like to remove the "wind production tax credit" which is arguably the sole reason the wind production businesses is kept alive. While doing this, he also plans to "continue his tax support breaks for fossil fuel producers".

While neither candidate talked about the important topic of climate change, it is quite reasonable to say from the aforementioned topics that Obama will harm the environment less with more renewable energy and more "clean coal", while on the other hand Romney wants to give fossil fuel producers tax breaks and he plans to continue producing as much energy from coal and fossil fuels.

Will the country benefit more as a whole from Romney's plan of increasing oil production and increasing tax breaks for fossil fuel producers, or from Obama's plan in somewhat increasing oil production as well as implementing more clean energy? It may be important to note that both candidates are in favor of becoming energy independent.





According to BusinessInsider, Tom Zeller Jr. "an American reporter and writer at The Huffington Post covering a variety of topics, including poverty, energy policy and the environment. He joined HuffPost in May, 2011. 
He also attended Columbia University as well as Cleveland State University, making him a reputable source and he provides great insight about the topic.