Romney seems to be more focused, as are many Republicans, on managing these two issues for the benefits they bring home today...while Obama is looking at them from more of a 'longer-term' position.
While the current administration put the brakes on drilling after the BP failure of 2010 and has been cautious about returning to open drilling, Mitt Romney has stated clearly that he will back oil's desire to drill on all federally held land...and at sea where ever they can...in order to increase production. He has also stated that he does not feel that renewables can meet our demands and that he will reduce the grant and subsidy funding for renewables once elected. The XL Pipeline will be rushed into production, and the concerns for the environment related to it will be monitored, but will not control how this project goes.
President Obama will approve the XL Pipeline, but there will be stronger controls on how it is developed...and he will increase subsidies for renewables while reducing the subsidies for oil...as these companies have been making record profits for more than the last decade.
Big industry, especially big petrochemical, opposes EPA clean air and water...and in conjunction with American Automotive they fight the need to reduce emissions and increase MPG. Though not as clear as you would hope...Romney and the republicans have again backed oil in their push forward and claim that all EPA rules are counter to the needs of Industry. And they have not included improved mileage in their platform for 2012... though it has been there for many years. Romney/Ryan is shaping up to be another pro-oil administration and one that fights to keep down the improvements that we have been pushing for in water and air quality since the formation of the EPA in the early 70s...under a Republican...Richard Nixon.
Obama has not been as supportive of the environment as anticipated, but he has been more supportive than most Republicans in the Congress would have liked. He has helped to reduce the use of coal...but has approved several coal programs that conduct "Topping" ...or the removal of mountain tops to then mine coal. New EPA air quality rules have gone into effect... not as strong as they could have been, but on track to return to our pre-Bush (W) path. Under Obama in a second term we will see less drilling on federal land than we would under Romney, however there will be increases ...and natural gas is growing which is helping to reduce the carbon footprint nationally.
Who wins? Who knows... but when talking about an all inclusive energy plan we must include renewables...and put our national research effort on this critical front. Obama is in clear support of renewables while Romney appears to be less so. As to the question of environmental management...well both have holes in their statements. But the EPA isn't against the American people, they are working for all of us to ensure that air, water, and even food is protected from toxic contamination no matter where it comes from, and in general current Democrats are more supportive of the EPA then are the Republicans. And let's face it... things like incandescent light bulbs should not be held onto just as a political point...its time for them to go.
Here are some sites to view:
http://www.mittromney.com/issues/energy
http://www.whitehouse.gov/energy
http://www.thepoliticalguide.com/Profiles/Governor/Massachusetts/Mitt_Romney/Views/Energy_and_the_Environment/
http://www.whitehouse.gov/energy/our-environment
http://www.treehugger.com/environmental-policy/climate-policy-proposals-greenest-obama-romney-stein-johnson.html
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