Americans depend on energy for everything from driving their
cars to powering factories, homes and offices -- and of course
our smartphones, laptops and tablets. How that energy is
produced and where it comes from affect jobs, the economy and
the environment. Where they stand: President Barack Obama
proposes an "all of the above" strategy that embraces
traditional energy sources such as oil and coal, along with
natural gas, nuclear power and renewable sources such as wind,
solar and hydropower. Obama has spent billions to promote "green
energy" and backs a tax credit for the wind industry that his
Republican rival Mitt Romney opposes. While production of
renewable energy has soared, critics point to several high-
profile failures, including Solyndra, a California solar company
that went bankrupt, costing taxpayers more than $500 million.
Romney pledges to make the U.S. independent of energy sources
outside of North America by 2020, through more aggressive
exploitation of domestic oil, gas, coal and other resou