John McCain, Presidential Candidate

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Location(s)

Senator McCain's stated positions:

• Greenhouse gas emissions:  Supports cap and trade driven my free market.  No mandatory caps
• Fuel Efficiency standards:  No specific target set
• Renewable energy:  Supports expanding these sources.  No specific goals stated
• Biofuels:  Favors increased use.   Opposes government subsidies
• Coal:  Supports use of conventional coal.  No position on coal-to-liquid
• Nuclear:  Endorses nuclear power to help promote energy independence
• LCV (League of Conservation Voters) Rating:  26
• Platform & Record In-Depth
  
  • Introduced legislation in 2002 that would have raised vehicle fuel-economy standards to 36 miles a gallon by 2016, but would have let companies lower that by as much as 10 percent through trading of greenhouse-gas credits.

     

  • Did not vote on the 2007 Senate-passed energy bill, which, among many other things, contained a provision to raise fuel economy for cars and trucks to 35 miles per gallon by 2020.

     

  • Voted against the final version of the 2005 Energy Policy Act, a sweeping, oil-friendly energy bill opposed by enviros. McCain criticized it because he said it would raise gas prices in Arizona, it mandated too much ethanol use, and it contained too-generous tax incentives for people who buy alternative-fuel vehicles.

     

  • In 2005, voted against a renewable portfolio standard that would have required the U.S. to get 10 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020.

     

  • Cosponsor in 2005 of the EFFECTER Act (clever acronym alert! EFFECTER = Efficient Energy Through Certified Technologies and Electricity Reliability), which would have provided tax incentives for energy-efficient offices, homes, and appliances, and included various other energy-efficiency measures.

     

  • Cosponsored resolutions in 2005 and 2006 that encouraged the International Whaling Commission to oppose commercial whaling.

     

  • Held hearings on climate change in 2003 and 2004 in the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, which he then chaired.

     

  • Opposed the "roadless rule" implemented by President Clinton in 2001, which put nearly 60 million acres of pristine national forests off-limits to most logging and road construction.

     

  • Opposed President Clinton's creation of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah and two national monuments in Arizona, arguing that state residents should have been involved in the decision-making process.

     

  • Cosponsored legislation in 1987 to limit flights over the Grand Canyon and require study of the proper minimum altitude that should be maintained by aircraft flying over areas of the National Park System. President Reagan signed the bill into law.
     
• More facts:   http://grist.org/feature/2007/10/01/mccain_factsheet/
• Interview:  http://grist.org/feature/2007/10/01/mccain/
• Press:  http://www.grist.org/cgi-bin/search.pl?query=John+McCain