Whoever is elected the next president has issues to think about and much to resolve.
While we cannot dwell in the past, it is interesting to look over the measures we simply did not take to protect our environment. As Holbrooke states "One of Ronald Reagan's first acts as president was to remove from the White House roof the solar panels Carter had installed."
I would understand if the incumbent president wanted to change the paint color in the living area, or upgrade the lawn's sprinkler system, but the fact that Reagan totally reversed an environmentally sound measure is completely ludicrous.
Energy is an easily debatable topic that all Americans can see the effect of. Both presidential candidates take a significant stand on the idea (unlike President Bush for 7 years), but they are severely different. Both parties agree that we cannot continue to give billions of dollars to our enemies for their oil production, but each party has their own way of severing ties. The Republican party predominately focus' on a more immidiate solution, drilling. But what do American's do once that supply has been desolved. We cannot make more fossil fuels. Also, do we want to drill until there isn't any oil left? This is where the Democrats differ. The Democrats plan to focus more attention on the development of renewable resources. While each party has their unique way of dealing with the energy crisis most United States citizens can agree, something must be done. The fact that gasoline has quadrupled in the past four years is very relevant to Americans. It is now our turn to decide how we want America to deal with future of energy.