Mr. Sanders War on Clean Energy

Uranium (Nuclear Minerals) / Nuclear Power - Economics, Design, & Industry

Date posted: 04/19/16

The Editorial Board of the Washington Post asks whether the U.S. can do without nuclear power and natural gas? Sen. Bernie Sanders thinks so. But his position would set back the fight against global warming. While campaigning in New York, Mr. Sanders has played up his opposition to nuclear power, and in particular the Indian Point plant north of Manhattan, which provides a quarter of the city electricity. The plant is a catastrophe waiting to happen, he declared. He has already promised to phase out nuclear power nationwide by steadily retiring existing reactors. Mr. Sanders has also attacked fracking, the process of fracturing shale formations deep underground in order to extract natural gas. After years of contentious debate, New York state government banned the technique, which drillers use widely in neighboring Pennsylvania. As with nuclear power, Mr. Sanders was just bowing to New York adversaries. But he had long insisted that the federal government should ban fracking across the country if we are serious about safe and clean drinking water and clean air. In fact, if we are serious about global warming, we will, and should, ignore Mr. Sanders sloganeering. When burned, natural gas produces about half the carbon dioxide emissions of coal. The recent fracking boom contributed to a reduction in national carbon dioxide emissions over the past several years, as utilities switched from cheap coal to now-cheaper gas. It is true that some concerns remain. Methane leaks from natural gas wells and pipelines. Many worry about drinking water near fracking operations. But the government can require drillers to address these issues without shutting the industry. It is also true that natural gas is a way-station. Gas is cleaner than coal, which should eliminated, but natural gas still produces carbon dioxide emissions. Note that nuclear is summarily dismissed by Sanders, but this view is based on biased, naive information pandering to coal, wind and solar interests.