Where the Candidates Stand on Clean Coal

Recently, the law firm VanNess Feldman put a finer point on John McCain and Barack Obama’s clean coal proposals, lining them up side by side. The comparison uses language taken directly from the campaign websites.

Take a look:

McCain

• Aim to provide $2 billion annually to advance clean coal technology
• Commit significant federal resources to researching, developing and advancing clean coal technologies

Obama

• Provide incentives to ramp up private investments in commercial-scale, zero-carbon coal plants
• Guide the Department of Energy into partnerships with private companies to develop 5 commercial-scale coal plants  equipped with CCS technology

Which candidate do you feel will do the most to help America utilize our most abundant and affordable energy resource? We’ll be watching closely in the weeks to come to see how the candidates’ energy plans shake out.

Comments

[Elizabeth]

Both are good but McCain's plan will improve the government deficit more effectively. By using the federal reserves to contribute to the technology, it would mean that the government would regulate the distribution and sale. Which means...that the money will eventually return one million times back.

The government can provide a waiver for those who are low income or for those who are senior and still charge a nominal fee from consumers for the energy costs and the rest of the revenue benefit the country.

With Barack's plan the money will go to companies that will expect to possibly have an interest and control how the energy is distributed. He is planning to possibly achieve a personal interest out of the private investments in commercial-scale plan.

[Steve Duren]

If you believe Obama is pro coal then you need to listen to his running mate Joe Biden. Joe recently stated no clean coal in the US, coal will kill you. McCain supports do everything to get energy independance for the US

[Shawn]

Biden is correct. There is no such thing as clean coal and until practices such as mountaintop removal mining are banned coal will never be clean. This type of mining destroys the local environment around mined areas, pollutes primary streams and groundwater used for drinking, causes massive amounts of sedimentation in waterways, causes reduction of employment in mining towns, and destroys Appalachian communities. No "clean coal" if it comes with a human toll! Energy independence must come from renewable resources not out-dated fossil fuels!