Kerry and Bush Mislead Voters With Promises of Energy Independence

Campaign promises at election crunch time are always interesting to monitor. As divided as the United States is over the current presidential candidates, it’s important to remember that, sometimes, neither side has an easy answer to the problems our society faces. Take, for example, our dependence on non-renewable sources of energy…

From Factcheck.org:

Both John Kerry and President Bush have promised voters that they will make America “energy independent.” But experts say both sides fall far short of what is necessary for energy independence in the next few decades…

…In many ways, the Bush and Kerry proposals are similar. Both candidates support tax credits for consumers who buy energy-efficient vehicles, greater investment in “clean coal” technologies, the creation of a natural gas pipeline from Alaska, and greater funding for the development of hydrogen vehicles.

The main difference is that Bush would increase the supply of oil by expanding domestic drilling in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Kerry opposes this idea and places greater emphasis on reducing oil consumption through renewable energy and government regulation requiring vehicles to get better fuel mileage. But experts agree that neither candidate’s proposal would achieve independence from foreign suppliers. [Full article here]