The Candidate

John Edwards is Democrat and former one-term Senator from South Carolina. As a candidate, Edwards carries strong name recognition from his days as a Vice-Presidential candidate alongside John Kerry in the 2004 Presidential Election.

The Position

John Edwards believes that, “If we harness American ingenuity to reach for transformative change, we can emerge from the crisis of global warming with a new energy economy that stimulates innovation, brings the family farm back to life, and creates more than 1 million jobs in America’s farms and industries.”

The Edwards plan includes three specific initiatives:

• Development of a cap-and-trade program for carbon emissions.
• Creation of a new energy economy by investing in clean, renewable energy.
• Meeting electricity demand via increased efficiency.

According to the Edwards plan, America will see the following benefits from his position on clean energy, “…by 2025 America will import 7.5 million fewer barrels of oil a day, produce 65 billion gallons of ethanol and other biofuels a year, generate 25 percent of our electricity from renewable sources, and produce more than 2 billion fewer tons of carbon dioxide emissions a year.”

Our Take

Edwards’ plan is quite detailed and worth reading. His proposal to gain clean energy investment capital by, “ending taxpayer giveaways for big oil companies, including special tax subsidies and sweetheart terms in offshore drilling leases.” is very similar to Hillary Clinton’s revenue generating plan. We wonder if taking from the oil companies and giving to the federal government is such a good idea. Why not create clean energy targets that allow oil companies (who are also energy companies) to keep their subsidies if they invest in clean technologies?

The John Edwards plan also includes healthy support for ethanol as the alternative fuel of the future. Once considered a strong contender as a clean energy fuel source, ethanol is being from an ethical these days. Since ethanol is made from corn, its use as a fuel source reduces stocks and makes the food source more expensive. So while ethanol may be good for the environment it may not be so good for the poor countries of the world.

Mr. Edwards definitely gains points for having a detailed plan that sets aside significant dollars for investments in clean energy technology including demand side measures to increase efficiency.