Food and Fuel America.com: New Hampshire Voters Pick Winners

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

New Hampshire Voters Pick Winners

New Hampshire voters have turned out in record numbers to voice their support for their candidates yesterday. The two primary winners, Senators McCain (R) and Clinton (D) each provide a bit different view on renewable energy which bears reading.

Senator John McCain Ethanol Energy Security

Senator John McCain's energy plans are a bit hard to find on his website. But with a little help from Google, we found the following that may help shed light on his thoughts regarding oil's impact on national security:

America's dependency on foreign oil is a major strategic vulnerability for our nation. One element in al Qaeda's war against us is to target the U.S. economy by driving up the price of oil in the hope that severe recession and higher inflation will follow. Osama bin Laden and other al Qaeda terrorists have spoken many times about the need to "mount ... operations accordingly" in order to hit energy supply points in the Middle East and other regions to spike oil prices.

In regards to alternative fuels, Sen. McCain offers up this support:

Alcohol fuels made from corn, sugar, switch grass, and many other sources, as well as fuel cells, biodiesel derived from waste products, natural gas, and other technologies are all promising and available alternatives to oil. I won't support subsidizing every alternative, or endorse tariffs that restrict the healthy competition which stimulates innovation and lowers costs. But I'll encourage the development of infrastructure and market growth necessary for these products to compete, and I'll let consumers choose the winners. I've never known an American entrepreneur worthy of the name who wouldn't rather compete for sales than subsidies.

Senator Hillary Clinton Food vs. Fuel Ethanol Energy

Senator Clinton has has a proposed a energy policy on her campaign website HERE. Here's a snippet that includes her renewable fuels plan:

Create a Strategic Energy Fund
Hillary has proposed a Strategic Energy Fund that would inject $50 billion into research, development and deployment of renewable energy, energy efficiency, clean coal technology, ethanol and other homegrown biofuels. Hillary’s proposal would give oil companies a choice: invest in renewable energy or pay into the fund. Hillary’s proposal would also eliminate oil company tax breaks and make sure that oil companies pay their fair share for drilling on public lands. Instead of sending billions of dollars to the Middle East for their oil, Hillary’s proposal will create a new clean energy industry in America and create tens of thousands of jobs here.