McCain vs. Obama on the Environment
NSNS has featured several stories this week on the growing campus environmental movement As the presidential election draws near, one of the hot issues on students’ minds is environmental policy. Today NSNS takes a look at the environmental policies of Senators John McCain and Barack Obama.

Senator McCain has set a goal of reducing pollution emissions 60 percent below 1990 levels by the year 2050. McCain has proposed a program to curb US pollution by capping emissions and issuing emissions credits to companies based on their pollutant status. As an incentive for companies to go green, McCain’s plan will allow companies to sell off extra credits if they fall below their federal pollutant status.  McCain also plans to invest heavily in nuclear power, and hopes to put the US on a path toward building 45 new nuclear power plants by 2030. McCain supports oil and gas development off U.S. shores, stricter regulation of the oil market, and research into new energy technologies. He opposes mandating stricter fuel-efficiency standards for cars.
Senator Obama’s goal is to reduce pollution emissions 80 percent by 2050. Like McCain, Obama also proposed an emissions cap-and-trade program, except under his plan the federal government would auction greenhouse gas emissions credits to companies that pollute. The money from the auction would fund clean energy technology development. Obama sees nuclear power as an option, but does not want the US to commit to building new power plants until the industry finds a way to safely dispose of nuclear waste. While initially against offshore drilling, Senator Obama now supports oil exploration off US coasts. He plans to end tax breaks for the oil industry as well as enacting stricter fuel-economy standards on cars.

More from the National Center for Policy Analysis on McCain
More from the National Center for Policy Analysis on Obama
More from John McCain’s campaign website
More from Barack Obama’s campaign website
More on how McCain votes on the environment
More on how Obama votes on the environment