When the three remaining Democrats gathered in Las Vegas to debate last night, it was a pretty tepid affair. But near the end of the two-hour debate came a brief skirmish that should be of interest to facility executives. The subject was energy policy. And in this case, the candidates offered some contrasts worth noting.

While former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards said he would ban new nuclear and coal plants (unless carbon sequestration technology became available), Illinois Sen. Barack Obama started at square one: energy efficiency.

OBAMA: ...This is an example of where ordinary citizens have to make a change. We are going to have to make our buildings more efficient. We’re going to have to make our lighting more efficient. We’re going to have to make our appliances more efficient. That is actually the low-hanging fruit if we’re going to deal with climate change. That’s the thing that we can do most rapidly.

And there’s no reason why, with the kind of presidential leadership that I intend to provide, that we can’t make drastic cuts in the amount of energy that we consume without any drop in our standard of living.

Contrast that to New York Sen. Hillary Clinton. Clinton did offer a scathing critique on the current administration's energy policy. Unfortunately, she later trotted out the old bromide about the need for "energy independence." It's a worthy goal to be sure, but that's a promise we've heard before. Maybe one reason it doesn't get accomplished is because candidates don't always realize that's the end of the road, not the beginning.

CLINTON: Well, I have a comprehensive energy plan that I have put forth. It does not rely on nuclear power for all of the reasons that we’ve discussed. I have said we should not be siting any more coal-powered plants unless they can have the most modern, clean technology. And I want big demonstration projects to figure out how we would capture and sequester carbon. But you know, this is going to take a massive effort. This should be our Apollo moon shot.

Facility executives understand how excessive energy use drives up energy costs. So too apparently does Obama. No facility executive would spend the capital to put a solar array on his building unless he made sure that it was as efficient as possible first. That's sound business practice. An efficient buiding can use a smaller photovoltaic array. So why should the nation be any different?

View an expanded clip of the candidates debating climate change and energy policy: