{"id":19793,"date":"2012-10-17T11:20:18","date_gmt":"2012-10-17T16:20:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/?p=19793"},"modified":"2012-10-17T11:23:05","modified_gmt":"2012-10-17T16:23:05","slug":"fact-checking-the-obama-and-romney-on-energy-and-the-environment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2012\/10\/17\/fact-checking-the-obama-and-romney-on-energy-and-the-environment\/","title":{"rendered":"Fact-Checking Obama and Romney on Energy and the Environment"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Photo by Spencer Platt\/Getty Images<\/p>

The candidates sparred over energy and the economy at last night's debate, and fact-checkers have been busy looking into their claims.<\/p><\/div>\n

Last night’s presidential debate saw a lot of claims and assertions about energy and environmental policy, so we sat down to sift through what the candidates are saying. It may not surprise you that there were some questionable assertions from both sides.<\/p>\n

It’s worth noting that any policy, and energy policy in particular, doesn’t typically boil down into easy sound bites or attacks like the ones being used by both campaigns. The factors are often complex and nuanced. Take gasoline prices, for instance: the White House has little control<\/a> over whether prices go up, and becoming “energy independent” isn’t likely to do much to bring them down<\/a>. Oil is traded on a world market, so what happens in the Strait of Hormuz is likely to have an impact at the pump in Des Moines<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Using various fact-checks by PolitiFact<\/a>, FactCheck<\/a>, and the New York Times<\/em><\/a>, here’s a list of some of the truths, untruths and half-truths delivered in last night’s debate:<\/p>\n