Supports Eliminating EPA
“Eliminate The Ineffective EPA. Polluters Should Answer Directly To Property Owners In Court For The Damages They Create – Not To Washington.”
(Ron Paul For President, http://www.ronpaul2012.com/the-issues/energy/, Accessed 10/7/11)
Supports More Coal and Nuclear Power
“Lift Government Roadblocks To The Use Of Coal And Nuclear Power.”
(Ron Paul For President, http://www.ronpaul2012.com/the-issues/energy/, Accessed 10/7/11)
Generally Favors A Hands-off Approach To Federal Regulation, And Says Environmental Disputes Should Be Settled By The States Or The Courts.
“Representative Ron Paul of Texas wants environmental disputes settled by the states or the courts. … Mr. Paul holds rather more complex views of the environment and regulation. He generally favors a hands-off approach to federal regulation, although he has backed some tax incentives for clean energy development. He opposes tax breaks for oil and gas companies but supports Arctic drilling. He is skeptical about climate change but said in 2008 that there were unexplained anomalies in global temperatures.”
(John M. Broder, “Bashing E.P.A. Is New Theme In G.O.P. Race,” The New York Times, 8/17/11)
In 2007 Interview, Said “Governments Don’t Have A Good Reputation For Doing A Good Job On Protecting The Environment.”
Quote: “On energy, I would say that the reliance on the government to devise a policy is a fallacy. I would advocate that the free market take care of that. The government shouldn’t be directing research and development because they are bound and determined to always misdirect money to political cronies. The government ends up subsidizing things like the corn industry to develop ethanol and it turns out that it’s not economically feasible. So, my answer to energy is to let the market work. Let supply and demand make the decision. Let prices make the decision. That is completely different than the bureaucratic and cronyism approach. On environment, governments don’t have a good reputation for doing a good job protecting the environment. If you look at the extreme of socialism or communism, they were very poor environmentalists. Private property owners have a much better record of taking care of the environment. If you look at the common ownership of the lands in the West, they’re much more poorly treated than those that are privately owned. In a free-market system, nobody is permitted to pollute their neighbor’s private property — water, air, or land. It is very strict.”
(Amanda Little, “An Interview With Ron Paul About His Presidential Platform On Energy And The Environment,” Grist, 10/16/08)
