ENERGY POLICIES

It feels like this has been the longest election of our lifetime. In between all the personal insults, email scandals and conspiracy theories that have taken over headlines, the issues that affect everyday Americans, and especially Texans have been sidelined. So what do we (as Texans) focus on? 

Michael E. Webber from the statesman  makes an argument that (if we can filter out the back and forth nastiness), we should focus on the candidate's stance on energy policies.  Webber's article highlights the importance of the fact that energy is vital to the economy of the lone star state. Trillions of dollars will be spent here in the coming decades that will create jobs in fields like oil and gas, decarbonization, infrastructure upkeep, renewable energy and electricity grid upgrades. 

Webber endorses Clinton's plan to let the dying coal industry faze out. He argues that coal is a thing of the past  and that Clinton's plan would benefit the oil and national gas industry far more than Donald Trump's. The Republican nominee's stance is mostly intended to protecting coal, which is not only an ancient source of energy but also something that contributes to the environment in negative ways. 

I like the argument that the author makes. Presidential candidates stance on energy policies directly affect how many good paying jobs will be created in Texas in the coming years. As a state where oil and agriculture are critical, we should be paying more attention to where candidates stand on energy policies than the back and forth rhetoric that dominates the narrative in the media.