Money and the Election by Bill Sweet

Money and the Election by Bill Sweet What role is energy playing in the contest between incumbent President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney? The short answer: Surprisingly little, considering that U.S. gasoline prices are roughly a dollar higher than when Obama was elected and about as high as they have been any time in the last four years. Energy industry donations to the two candidates are not among the highest tech-sector contributions, as noted in the current issue of IEEE Spectrum. Ads promoting fossil energy exploitation are up rather sharply compared to 2008, to be sure, but clean energy campaign spending is dramatically lower. Despite controversy surrounding U.S. government subsidies for wind and solar companies like the failed Solyndra, Obama appears to have largely lost the active support of the clean-tech industry, while Romney has the enthusiastic backing of coal, oil, and natural gas interests. Why is that, and how much difference might it make? For the longer answers, read more.http://spectrum.ieee.org/energywise/energy/policy/money-and-the-election