As we do every three months, we offer here a fresh update of selected statistical indicators of what has happened since Barack Obama first took the oath of office in January 2009.
Issues: energy
Carson Overlooks Russia’s Reserves
FactChecking the GOP Responses
GOP Whacks Weiland Over Payroll Taxes
NRCC, Again, Cherry-picks Data
Stretching the Truth in Arkansas
Pipeline Primer
Obama’s Drilling Denials
In a tense exchange during the Oct. 16 debate, President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney sparred over domestic oil and gas production on lands and in waters under the Obama administration’s control.
The facts, for the most part, are on Romney’s side.
Obama was wrong when he denied Romney’s claim that the Obama administration cut in half the number of new permits and new leases for offshore oil and gas drilling. The decrease is actually more than half.
Obama’s Numbers
Renewable Energy ‘Doubled’?
President Barack Obama has been claiming that the United States has “doubled our use of renewable energy.” Not true. Wind and solar have doubled, but total renewable energy consumption is up by about one quarter from 2008 to 2011. Plus, since wind and solar started at such a low level, a doubling may not be as impressive to voters as it sounds.
The largest category of renewable energy is biomass, such as ethanol that is blended in gasoline.