regulation of carbon emissions. In June 2012, Romney's domestic policy advisor Oren Cass told the Los Angeles Times, "He's a supporter of renewable energy, as long as it's anything that would be economically competitive. He doesn't know the extent to which climate change is occurring or that human activity is causing it. ... What you won't see are mandates or taxes or regulations that interfere with economic activity." In August 2012, during a week of heavy fundraising from oil company executives, Romney put forward what he called a comprehensive energy plan that he said would allow North America to become independent of foreign oil imports within a decade. Romney's energy proposal called for aggressively expanding drilling for fossil fuels, such as oil and natural gas, by easing federal regulations. The plan would seek to increase offshore drilling along the coasts of states like Virginia and the Carolinas, as well as in previously restricted areas of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; and would give states more control over energy development on federal lands within their borders (Romney noted that oil companies currently wait an average 307 days for drilling permits from the federal government, while the state of North Dakota takes only 10 days to issue permits to drill on state-owned land). Additionally, the plan called for expansion of coal mining and nuclear energy production. Romney reiterated in the proposal that as president he would approve the Keystone XL pipeline, to carry oil sands crude from western Canada to the U.S. Gulf Coast for refining. (During the campaign, Romney had promised that he would approve the pipeline project by executive order on his first day in office as president.) Romney's written energy policy proposal made no mention of climate change, and made little mention of plans to improve energy conservation. During the campaign Romney opposed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) requirement that the average fuel efficiency of cars be doubled by 2025. "Governor Romney opposes the extreme standards that President Obama has imposed, which will limit the choices available to American families," said Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul. Romney had previously expressed opposition to federal aid for renewable energy development, and his August 2012 energy policy plan proposed eliminating government support in the form of loan guarantees and subsidies for development of renewable types of energy, sources of energy that Romney had said the Obama administration has been over-reliant on. Romney's