Tim Pawlenty Talks Energy In Iowa (Video)

In this video, Republican presidential hopeful Tim Pawlenty sits down with Des Moines radio host Jan Mickelson and provides an early preview of his energy platform. Pawlenty also shares his views on cap and trade and global warming.



An early look at T-Paw's energy platform:

• Supports goal of severing us from foreign oil and maximizing American sources of energy
• Let's have drilling in ANWR
• Let's have drilling off our coast,  particularly with state approval 
• Let's make sure we have clean coal and use the 250 year supply of coal we have in this country
• Let's expand nuclear, make sure that it's safe
• Let's use this game changing amount of natural gas that we've now find and discovered within the territorial reach of the United States - enough to power our entire base load energy needs for at least 100 years and maybe two or three hundred years
• And then for the renewables, let's do those that make economic rational sense
• I've been a strong proponent of renewable fuels, but we need to focus on those things that make economic sense
• Ethanol, biodiesel are things that I've strongly supported
• Remember when we talk about subsidies, mandates, and the like it doesn't just apply to biofuels. Oil is subsidized. Coal is subsidized. The whole nuclear energy was researched, paid for, commercialized, and to this day is subsidized by the federal government. 
• If we're going to talk about subsidies, don't just pick on biofuels. Let's put 'em all on the table. 

Tim Pawlenty on Cap and trade:

T-Paw also disavows his past support for cap and trade in the video:

• A couple years ago now I completely disavowed that position and said it was wrong and a mistake. 
• I wrote a letter to Congress saying don't pass cap and trade. The country doesn't support it. The Congress doesn't support it. I don't support it. It's a bad idea. It's ham-fisted.
• All of the likely, or I should say leading, 2012 candidates at one point or another embraced the same thing. 
• I made a mistake. I've got some clunkers in my record like everybody does who's been in an executive position
• I considered it, concluded it was wrong, and disavowed that position a couple years ago

Tim Pawlenty on global warming and climate change

• Yeah, well, they don't call it, first of all, America warming. It's global warming to the extent that it exists. 
• You have China, India, and other places just saying we're not going to do it. 
• If you start with the proposition of climate change, the climate is always changing. There is no doubt that the climate is changing. The real question is "Why is it changing?" and how much of that - if any - is attributable to human behavior. 
• There is a great scientific debate whether any of it, a little, some, a lot is caused by human behavior. 
• The bottom line is that I think the weight of the science indicates that if there is any human behavior involved it is a modest amount. 
• I think climate change occurs, but I think the bulk of it is mostly natural historic trends in the climate.
• And I think there is some suggestion that humans have caused some of it, but the answer isn't to then to have government come in with this top-down cap and trade scheme.
• Let the markets work, let technology work, let peoples' preferences work and they'll figure out the best way to address it.