U.S. candidates advisers debate approach on energy

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http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N06385963.htm

John McCain and Barack Obama both believe the United States should reduce carbon emissions and cut its oil dependence, but differ on how active a role the government should play in energy policy, their advisors said on Monday.

Both presidential candidates are open to drilling for oil off U.S. coasts and would promote investment in technologies to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide that contribute to global warming. But they disagree on how to pay for the changes.

Jason Grumet, an adviser to the Democratic candidate Obama, criticized McCain's approach at a debate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, contending that it lacked specifics.

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R. James Woolsey, a McCain adviser, said the Republican candidate believes the best approach is for the government to establish a cap-and-trade system that attaches a cost to the emission of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas associated with climate change.

"I'd have to admit that Senator Obama's plan is more detailed," said Woolsey, who served as CIA director during the Clinton administration. "Senator McCain believes we should stick to a general direction such as cap and trade and leave the detailed standards, renewable fuels and so forth, up to local decision makers."