The Associated Press: on Energy & Oil

George Pataki: Tackle climate change via private & market-based initiatives

Linda Lingle: Transformation for clean energy, not incremental change

Almost three years later, however, that initiative has helped support dozens of energy programs that have laid the groundwork for the nation's most oil-dependent state to potentially become its most energy self-sufficient. Tall wind turbines are sprouting across the islands. Residents and businesses will soon be able to sell homegrown solar power back to the grid. Charging stations for incoming electric cars are being built--by law, at least one per 100-space parking lot by the end of next year.

''The path we were on was not one we could sustain,'' Republican Gov. Linda Lingle said in an interview. ''We had to be transformational. It couldn't be incremental any longer.''

Joe Miller: Nuclear energy shouldn't be precluded or overlooked

Carte Goodwin: Opposes cap-and-trade as hurting jobs with coal

He said he would be more in favor of the legislation Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) is championing, which Goodwin said "recognizes the practical effect of coal."

"I will not support any piece of legislation that threatens any West Virginia job," Goodwin said, adding that it's obvious "how strongly West Virginians feel on the issue" of energy legislation.

Mary Landrieu: Proud of expanding oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico

Kennedy responded that much of the billions of dollars in royalties wouldn’t start flowing until 2017, after thousands more acres of wetlands had washed away. But Landrieu noted millions of dollars already had come to Louisiana because of the drilling bill.

Jeff Sessions: Surge in gas prices sucks out American wealth

Sessions, who serves on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said he has pumped gas at stations across the state while campaigning.

“I’ve seen people in Mobile buy $5 worth of gas. That’s all they had,“ he said. ”It just drives home that this surge in gasoline prices is sucking out large amounts of our American wealth that they could otherwise be using on other things important to them.“

Figures said people are ”really finding it harder and harder to make ends meet. You hear that more than anything else--economy and gas prices.“

Vivian Davis Figures: High gas prices make it harder to make ends meet

Sessions, who serves on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said he has pumped gas at stations across the state while campaigning.

“I’ve seen people in Mobile buy $5 worth of gas. That’s all they had,“ he said. ”It just drives home that this surge in gasoline prices is sucking out large amounts of our American wealth that they could otherwise be using on other things important to them.“

Figures said people are ”really finding it harder and harder to make ends meet. You hear that more than anything else--economy and gas prices.“

George W. Bush: Reduce gas consumption by 20% over 10 years

Bush signed an executive order that will “cut gasoline consumption and greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles.”

“When it comes to energy and the environment, the American people expect common sense and they expect action,” the president said. “We’re taking action by taking the first steps toward rules that will make our economy stronger, our environment cleaner and our nation more secure for generations to come.“

What those rules would look like was anything but clear. An official said the president’s position opposing mandatory emissions caps has not changed. Bush has said that anything other than a voluntary approach would unduly harm the nation’s economy.

Bush officials indicated that the new rules could implement the president’s plan for reducing gas consumption by 20 percent over 10 years.

Nancy Pelosi: Bush’s energy plan is running out the clock until 2008

But the Democratic-controlled Congress is considering a number of bills that would impose a cap on emissions of carbon dioxide and a carbon trade system. “It appears that the president wants to run out the clock to the end of his term without addressing our energy needs,“ said Nancy Pelosi.

Last month, the Supreme Court declared that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases qualify as air pollutants under the Clean Air Act and thus can be regulated by the EPA. The court also said that the ”laundry list“ of reasons the administration has given for declining to do so are insufficient, ruling that the EPA must regulate carbon dioxide if it finds that it endangers public health.

Allen McCulloch: Responsible drilling at Otero Mesa and ANWR

Stephen Laffey: Drives an SUV & considers expanding mass transit unrealistic

Laffey says, “People in America are used to being mobile. Jimmy Carter lost re-election by telling people to put on a sweater and lower the thermostat.”

Stephen Laffey: Economic incentives to reduce oil-funded Islamofacism

Betty Castor: We won’t solve this problem with more drilling

CASTOR: We won’t solve this problem with more drilling. I oppose drilling off Florida’s coasts, as well as in areas like the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. I support economic incentives for the production of fuel-efficient, environmentally friendly cars, trucks and SUVs. I support extending those incentives for hybrid cars, and oppose tax laws that allow companies to write off purchasing heavy trucks unnecessarily. We need to make a real investment in alternative energy sources, especially here in Florida, solar power.

MARTINEZ: I support Bush’s energy reform bill to increase our efficiency and production. Reducing our dependence on foreign oil is a multifaceted problem. We should provide the proper incentives to increase oil refining capacity and make energy production more efficient and safe. Further, we need to allow exploration in areas that support drilling. Finally, I strongly oppose drilling off the coast of Florida.

Mel Martinez: Allow exploration in areas that support drilling

CASTOR: We won’t solve this problem with more drilling. I oppose drilling off Florida’s coasts, as well as in areas like the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. I support economic incentives for the production of fuel-efficient, environmentally friendly cars, trucks and SUVs. I support extending those incentives for hybrid cars, and oppose tax laws that allow companies to write off purchasing heavy trucks unnecessarily. We need to make a real investment in alternative energy sources, especially here in Florida, solar power.

MARTINEZ: I support Bush’s energy reform bill to increase our efficiency and production. Reducing our dependence on foreign oil is a multifaceted problem. We should provide the proper incentives to increase oil refining capacity and make energy production more efficient and safe. Further, we need to allow exploration in areas that support drilling. Finally, I strongly oppose drilling off the coast of Florida.

Al Sharpton: Raise CAFE standard from 27.5 mpg to 33, and 25 for SUVs

A: They should go up to at least 33 on vehicles and up to 24 to 25 with SUVs.

Dennis Kucinich: Raise CAFE standard from 27.5 mpg to 45, and 40 for SUVs

A: The technology already exists to make light trucks that achieve 40 mpg and cars 45 mpg, and I will establish those standards as one early step in a major shift away from the use of fossil fuels.

Howard Dean: Raise CAFE standard from 27.5 mpg to 37.5, including SUVs

A: I support an across-the-board corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standard of 37.5 mpg by 2015. This would apply to all passenger vehicles, and would require a closing of the SUV loophole.

John Edwards: Supports real increases in CAFE standards

A: I support real increases in CAFE standards. As we implement those increases, we must also invest far more in fuel-efficiency technology

John Kerry: Raise CAFE standard to 36 mpg by 2015

A: I support updating CAFE standards to 36 miles per gallon by 2015. This proposal will reduce America’s dependence on oil by saving 2 million barrels of oil per day -- almost as much as we currently import from the Persian Gulf. It will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, smog and ozone pollution.

Joseph Lieberman: Raise CAFE standard from 27.5 mpg to 40, including SUVs

A: My ‘Declaration of Energy Independence’ calls for CAFE standards to be set at a level that will save 2 million barrels of oil per day by 2015. According to estimates provided during last year’s energy debate, this would require CAFE standards to be raised to 40 miles per gallon. In addition, the fuel efficiency standards should apply to SUVs as well as to passenger automobiles.

Wesley Clark: Raise CAFE standards after consulting with experts

A: We now have the technology to make cars and SUVs that go twice as far on a gallon of gas by using more efficient engines and transmissions, including hybrid cars that use both gasoline and an electric motor. In consultation with scientists, environmental groups, & industry, I will set new standards to raise the fuel economy and reduce the emissions of cars, SUVs, and light trucks.

Al Gore: Renewable energy instead of nuclear power

A: I strongly believe we need to take measures to increase our nation’s energy security and decrease our dependence on unreliable foreign sources of oil. However, I do not support an increased reliance on nuclear power. In order to achieve sound economic and environmental goals, I believe that we must increase renewable energy sources and environmentally sound domestic energy production and develop new energy-saving technologies, while reducing our reliance on imported energy. Through the power of free markets and American ingenuity, my plan will dramatically reduce pollution and enhance our energy security - and create more jobs in the process.

George W. Bush: Clarify rules to allow for more nuclear power generation

A: Nuclear power plays an important role in meeting the energy needs of the New Economy, supplying over 20% of electricity consumed. As part of my energy policy, I would clarify IRS rules to make it easier for companies that specialize in operating nuclear power plants to purchase them from companies that do not. My overall energy policy also includes using diplomatic leverage, working with our allies, OPEC, and other oil-producing countries to ensure greater stability in world oil markets. I will also encourage greater exploration at home including opening the ANWR up to environmentally responsible exploration. We must also develop our natural gas resources, which are clean-burning and hemispheric in nature, not subject to whims of OPEC. I will also promote renewable sources of energy as part of my agenda because the New Economy is very electric-intensive.

George W. Bush: Make Amtrak more efficient and competitive

A: Our national railroad network is a crucial component of our public transportation system. I support a healthy intercity passenger rail system. I support current efforts to make Amtrak more efficient and competitive. I believe these efforts will result in better, more extensive and more reliant rail service for the millions of Americans who travel by train.

Al Gore: $150B Energy Security and Environment Trust Fund

A: Encouraging consumers and producers to use cleaner energy is critical to ensuring we have clean air and fighting the threat of global warming. That is why I have proposed a bold, unprecedented Energy Security and Environment Trust Fund - a $150 billion fund to help develop clean new technologies. This fund will provide tax credits and financial incentives to power producers who reduce pollutant emissions; consumers who purchase energy-efficient vehicles, homes and home appliances; and communities that build energy-saving forms of public transportation. These measures will stimulate economic growth, create new jobs, reduce our nation’s dependence on unreliable foreign sources of oil and clean up the nation’s air and water.

George W. Bush: Remove federal impediments to states’ clean energy

A: I would remove federal impediments, such as unclear jurisdiction over who is responsible for grid reliability, to help states be able to deregulate their electric industries effectively. This way states’ green power can be identified and rewarded. As governor, I presided over an electric deregulation bill that brings competition to Texas residents, makes mandatory emissions reductions from older power plants, and calls for 2,000 megawatts of new renewable energy by 2009, making Texas the largest market for renewable energy in the country. The Environmental Defense Fund calls this Texas law ‘the strongest in the nation.“‘

Al Gore: Public/private initiative to triple auto fuel efficiency

Environmentalist supporters noted that Gore:
• Supported global warming research long before the issue was recognized as a serious threat
• Joined with Big Three automakers to create the Public/Private Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles to triple the fuel efficiency of vehicles without increasing cost or reducing quality or safety
• launched a “livability initiative” to help communities preserve green space, ease traffic congestion and pursue regional “smart growth” strategies.