The extinction of hundreds of thousands of species, the recession of rainforests, the expansion of deserts, the dramatic increase in the intensity and incidences of hurricanes and wildfires, and the significant rising of worldwide ocean levels—all are consequences of global warming. </p></p><p>Unfortunately, of all the topics talked about on the presidential campaign trail, global warming and the energy crisis have been swept pretty much under the rug, playing second fiddle to the war in Iraq and immigration.</p></p><p>On the Democratic side, all of the candidates believe that global warming is a real problem, and they want to address it. Barack Obama supports a “Cap and Trade” system that would require that we reduce our nation’s 1990-level emissions by 80% by the year 2050. Other supporters of this idea are Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, Mike Huckabee, and John McCain. </p></p><p>Obama also supports lowering levels of carbon contained in oil by 5% by 2015 and 10% by 2020. Obama would also establish yearly federal benchmarks for car companies to achieve, but he would also grant them a bit of flexibility in reaching these.</p></p><p> Hillary Clinton would force businesses to purchase emissions allotments sold through auctions. She also would invest in clean energy sources and require the increase of fuel efficiency. She also wants to put America at the forefront of the fight against global warming.</p> John Edwards, who dropped out of the race recently, agrees America should be the leader in the fight against global warming. He would have created a $13 billion fund for government investments in renewable energy sources. Edwards would also have reduced oil imports by 7.5 million barrels per day by the year 2025, and he would have raised the standard MPG rating for all automobiles to 40 by the year 2016.</p></p><p> As for the Republicans, many of the candidates claim there is no scientific consensus for the existence of global warming. Mike Huckabee is one of those candidates, although he wants to pursue alternative energy sources. His goal is to achieve energy independence by the end of his second term, but he offers no specific plans to do so. Huckabee also supports drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.</p> </p><p> John McCain is the only Republican frontrunner who believes global warming is a problem. He wants to support a global effort to reduce emissions that reaches further than the Kyoto Protocol in that it would include developing countries, like China and India. He would bring advanced sources of energy to public use faster. McCain would also reduce dependence on foreign energy suppliers.</p></p><p> Mitt Romney, who also has dropped out of the race, does not believe that there is a scientific consensus on global warming. However, he agrees that reducing foreign energy dependence is a “strategic imperative.” He also supports drilling for fuels in the National Arctic Wildlife Refuge. </p></p><p> If you are one of the many Americans concerned with global warming, we had strongly urged voters to support John McCain pr Kpjm Edwards because of their views on global warming. But with Edwards’ recent exit in the 2008 campaign, please consider voting for Obama. He has the most specific plans for dealing with envioronmental issues. McCain is by far the most environmentally conscious of the Republican candidates.</p>