Rick Santorum: The Second-Most Anti-Environmental Candidate

This is one of a series of posts describing presidential candidate’s views.  I didn’t cover Santorum earlier because his poll numbers were so low, but that has obviously changed.

Santorum’s website does not have a page dedicated to energy or environment but does make a number of pledges:

Rick Santorum is committed to reviving our economy, restoring economic growth, and creating jobs in America again . . . . He also will roll back job killing regulations, restrain our spending by living within our means, and unleash our domestic manufacturing and energy potential.

Eliminate . . .  resources for job killing radical regulatory approaches at the EPA and refocus its mission on safe and clean water and air and commonsense conservation…

Eliminate all other Obama era regulations with economic impact over $100 million

Tap into America’s vast domestic energy resources to power our 21st century economy without picking winners and losers so all American families and businesses can have lower energy costs.

Approve the Keystone Pipeline and other job creating initiatives delayed and burdened excessively by government regulation.

Santorum made his views about climate change clear in  a discussion with Rush Limbaugh:

I believe the earth gets warmer, and I also believe the earth gets cooler, and I think history points out that it does that and that the idea that man through the production of CO2 which is a trace gas in the atmosphere and the manmade part of that trace gas is itself a trace gas is somehow responsible for climate change is, I think, just patently absurd when you consider all of the other factors, El Nino, La Nina, sunspots, you know, moisture in the air. . . .  It’s just an excuse for more government control of your life, and I’ve never been for any scheme or even accepted the junk science behind the whole narrative.

Despite all this, he’s still only the second-most anti-environmental candidate.  He does seem to recognize at least some role for EPA in protecting clean air and water, unlike Ron Paul who wants to delegate all environmental protection to state trial courts (!).  Ron Paul may have come in behind Santorum in the Iowa primary, but he still is the winner in the contest for  “most anti-environmental candidate.”

2012 presidential election, Rick Santorum, Ron Paul