The major election issue is NOT the economy, immigration, or jobs

Energy costs and availability and environmental affairs have temporarily taken a back seat to the slow economy, says the politically independent Council on Foreign Relations.

However, what the major candidates believe and do about energy and the environment has implications far beyond the next electoral cycle. The subject transcends national borders. Forbes magazine postulates that the future of renewable energy might hang in the balance. And a pressing, more global reason for concern: increasingly convincing evidence that hydrocarbon energy sources are changing our world climate in a way that may soon be irreversible.

Is the climate really changing?

Mainstream scientific opinion on climate change in the United States as well as the rest of the world is that without a doubt, the Earth is warming.

Over the past decade, the evidence has only become stronger.

In April 2011, Gallup reported that the nations of Western, Eastern, and Southern Europe, Latin America, and developed Asia all see global warming as a serious threat. Massive amounts of international low-carbon and green investments testify to the world's growing concern.
Also in April, Christine Todd Whitman, former governor (R, NJ) and George W. Bush-appointed U.S. environmental chief, announced results of an independent study by the American Security Project of the state-by-state consequences of climate change (see video). The study found that the costs of doing nothing at all far exceed the costs of climate change prevention, which some proposals would leave entirely to each state.
With William D. Ruckelshaus, President Reagan's top environmental advisor, Whitman wrote in the Washington Post of the continuing need to "fashion a prosperous, healthy America whose environment continues to improve."
Less than a month before the caucuses in Iowa, more than two-thirds of respondents in the 2011 Farm Poll stated that they believe the global climate is warming. (28% stated the evidence is inconclusive. Only 5% denied the change.)
Obama, Gingrich, and Huntsman have all stated they believe in climate change. Romney has waffled on the topic. The other Republican candidates appear unwilling to credit the mounting evidence.

"Whodunit" must be considered a non-issue, and perhaps even a huge political red herring. Regardless of whether humans, Mother Nature, or both, are responsible for changing world climate, survival of a viable standard of living appears to depend on reversing or stopping the process.

Many experts view U.S. energy policy as needing to adopt sustainable energy choices, but from an immediate "all of the above" perspective. A transformation of American energy flow toward sustainable and climate-friendly sources will likely be impossible without genuine commitment from the private sector and strong federal government initiatives.

Cautionary voices also comment that the next U.S. president will have to walk a thin line between American xenophobia and the realities of the world situation and global politics. Geoeconomist and Paul A. Volcker Senior Fellow for International Economics Sebastian Mallaby expresses concern about foreign policy that are especially meaningful in view of the world environment and energy picture. "American share of output is shrinking and America's power is shrinking, and looking into the future for the next presidency, it's likely to fall even more…. The name of the game is going to be to form alliances, to work with multilateral institutions, and to walk more softly."

So what do our 2012 candidates have to say about this course? Well, the candidates all agree on one issue: increasing American energy independence is critical to national security. Point taken. From here on, the candidates begin to diverge.

Barack Obama, the Democratic incumbent

“We cannot keep going from shock to trance on the issue of energy security, rushing to propose action when gas prices rise, then hitting the snooze button when they fall again. The United States of America cannot afford to bet our long-term prosperity and security on a resource that will eventually run out. Not anymore. Not when the cost to our economy, our country, and our planet is so high. Not when your generation needs us to get this right. It is time to do what we can to secure our energy future.”--President Obama, March 30, 2011

Obama has made no secret of his perception of urgency in fast-tracking cleaner sources of electricity, including renewables like wind, solar, biomass, and geothermal. During his first four years, he has stressed initiatives in these areas--not without embarrassment, as shown in the fate of Solyndra.

However, Obama has also encouraged expansion of offshore oil exploration and production, with the caveat that it be safe and responsible. He has advocated a bouquet of energy sources, including "clean coal," natural gas, and nuclear power. He has tightened up vehicular fuel efficiency and commercial environmental standards. He has called for regional high-speed rail networks like those in Europe and Asia, which would eliminate a large portion of fuel consumption, carbon pollution, and transportation energy cost, along with the benefits of speeding long-distance travel.

The president has also stuck his neck out by favoring elimination of subsidies and tax breaks for oil and gas companies, the most profitable corporate citizens of the world. Only time will tell if his tenuous balance on all these factors can be sustained.

NEXT: The Republican candidates on energy policy

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