The Candidate

Barack Obama is a Democratic candidate for the 2008 Presidential Election. Mr. Obama is a graduate of Harvard Law School, served for eight years in the Illinois State Senate and currently serves as a U.S. Senator from Illinois.

The Position

Senator Obama makes the following proposals via the environment issue page on his campaign website.

• Implement A 100% Auction Cap-and-Trade Program To Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions
• Invest In A Clean Energy Economy And Create American Jobs
• Invest In The Fastest, Cheapest Way To Reduce Emissions: Energy Efficiency
• Strengthen Our Oil Security And Energy Independence
• Make The U.S. A Leader In Combating Climate Change Around The World

Our Take

Senator Obama presents a very comprehensive plan that touches all aspects of the clean energy issue. His 100% Cap-And-Trade plan will set aside money for federal research on clean energy technologies. That money might be better spent by creating incentives for commercial organizations to develop and deploy systems that successfully generate clean energy.

Senator Obama is in an interesting position in that the state he represents is home to a large amount of coal fired generation. Coal fired powered plants are huge emitters of CO2 but at the same time provide a plentiful, low cost source of energy. It is good to see that he also supports the development of clean coal technologies so that we can continue to utilize the resource with a much lower impact to the environment.