Op-Ed: The Energy Policy Debate between Candidates

Abstract

In November 2012, registered voters of the United States will vote
for President of the United States. The decision on which candidate
a voter will support will be made based on many parameters, but
this is a journal on Strategic Policy for Energy and the Environment.
Therefore, this op-ed will focus on energy policy. My friend, Dr. Jorge
Wong, Editor-in-Chief of AEE’s Distributed Generation and Alternative
Energy Journal, highlighted an excellent article in The American writ-
ten by Kenneth Green and Elizabeth DeMeo (http://www.american.
com/archive/2012/august/presidential-power-obama-vs-romney-on-
energy), which I highly recommend reading before this Op-Ed. Jorge
asked, “Which policy, or better, what parts of each policy (Romney’s
or Obama’s) will make U.S. energy more reliable and secure in the
long run, for both producers/providers and users?” I decided to write
this op-ed touching on the three ways Green and DeMeo contrasted
the candidate’s energy platforms. This article is unlikely to change the
way you feel about either candidate, but I believe it is important to
understand energy and how energy policy affects our lives. Please note
that the article is my personal and professional opinion and does not
necessarily reflect the opinions of my employer or my clients.