Barack Obama on Energy

Environmental concerns have never been greater in the United States. Global warming is becoming a concern, gas prices are getting higher by the day and energy costs are becoming higher as well. In the upcoming presidential election there are some different views on what to do for these environmental concerns. The views of Barack Obama on energy are ones that involve helping to improve vehicle standards and promoting renewable energy.

First, there is the concern on fuel economy standards. More people are looking to find cars that are more fuel efficient because of the high cost of gas. Obama has higher standards proposed than what John McCain offers. Obama wants to raise fuel economy standards for cars to fifty-two miles per gallon by 2026. McCain, on the other hand, introduced laws that state that standards should be at thirty-six miles per gallon by 2016, but he has not been specific about any further standards he wants.

Biofuels have become valuable over the years as well. These are fuels that can be used in cars and can be grown naturally. Whereas McCain opposes using subsidies for ethanol Obama is looking for at least sixty billion gallons of biofuels to be made every year in the country by 2030. Whether or not he plans to give tax incentives to gas companies that work with these fuels is currently unknown.

Renewable energy is something that has become especially important. Obama plans to use a great deal of support for renewable energy. He is asking for a quarter of energy in the country to be from renewable energy by 2025. He also plans to have about $150 billion over the course of ten years to work in research and development for renewable materials, biofuels and other research features for renewable energy.

One of the greatest environmental concerns deals with nuclear energy. It is known for being clean but it can be dangerous if not handled properly, and terror concerns have made this a problem in some areas. While McCain is a strong supporter of nuclear energy Obama thinks differently. He feels that while he does consider nuclear energy for clean energy he has stated that this is not the best option to use and that he wants to work closely towards better materials like solar energy or even wind power.

When it comes to environmental concerns the thing about Barack Obama on energy is that he is looking to help support the environment through all sorts of means. He has greater standards for energy in terms of how cars work in the future. He also supports renewable energy, but he does have some concerns about the use of nuclear power.