News Opinons Politics

Sanders, Ocasio-Cortez Push Bill to ‘Ban Fracking Nationwide’

An anti-fracking bill crafted by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) aims to end the practice altogether, making it illegal “on all onshore and offshore land in the United States” by Jan. 1, 2025.

Left-wing actor Mark Ruffalo teased the bill last week, allowing Sanders to jokingly knock him for “ruining the surprise” of the new fracking legislation.

“I don’t mind if @MarkRuffalo spoils his own movies. But please, don’t ruin the surprise of our new legislation with Rep. @AOC, @SenJeffMerkley and @RepDarrenSoto,” Sanders wrote with an accompanying clip of the Avengers actor evidently “spoiling” the upcoming legislation:



Feds Warn Law Enforcement of Potential Iranian Sleeper Cells Following Discovery of Encrypted Communications
Trump’s Freedom 250 unveils IndyCar racetrack in DC: ‘Imagine these views’
Whistleblower says CBP chief targeted senior staff over ‘political vendettas’
New Details: Alleged IED Throwers in NYC Had Naturalized Parents – IEDs Contained the ‘Mother of Satan’ Explosive, Rep. Roy Calls for Pause on All Legal Immigration
Schumer once blocked Trump’s move to fill the nation’s oil reserves, now he wants them opened
China-linked birth tourism under scrutiny as GOP lawmakers press Trump admin for answers
Liberal dark money boosts Democrats’ Virginia redistricting effort, massively outraising opponents
WATCH: GOP Rep Roasts Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz And State AG Keith Ellison over Massive Fraud Scandal Point by Point
EXCLUSIVE: Trump rejects shielding Biden records from Senate probes in executive privilege showdown
Breaking: NYC Bomb Attack ‘ISIS-Inspired Terrorism,’ NYPD Commissioner Says
DHS hammers Dems over airport security lines amid funding lapse
The Most Dishonest Headline We’ve Ever Seen: The NYT’s Headline on the Islamist IED Attack at Mamdani’s Mansion Will Blow Your Mind
Iranian Women’s Soccer Team Appears to Cry for Help with Subtle Hand Gesture
Tankers to resume normal movement in Middle East in ‘a few weeks’ at worst, Energy sec says, ending oil surge
Airport chaos escalates pressure to resolve DHS government shutdown

The bill, according to the Hill, aims to end fracking altogether, revoking permits for “wells where fracking takes place and that are within 2,500 feet of a home, school or other ‘inhabited structure’” beginning February 1, 2021. It would also “immediately prevent federal agencies from issuing federal permits for expanded fracking, new fracking, new pipelines, new natural gas or oil export terminals and other gas and oil infrastructure.”

See also  Natural gas prices surge worldwide as Iran conflict crimps supply

It would make the practice, which Ocasio-Cortez has identified as the “leading contributor to our climate emergency,” illegal by January 1, 2025.

“Fracking is a danger to our water supply. It’s a danger to the air we breathe, it has resulted in more earthquakes, and it’s highly explosive,” Sanders said in a statement, according to the Hill. To top it all off, it’s contributing to climate change.”

“If we are serious about clean air and drinking water, if we are serious about combating climate change, the only safe and sane way to move forward is to ban fracking nationwide,” he continued.


Feds Warn Law Enforcement of Potential Iranian Sleeper Cells Following Discovery of Encrypted Communications
Trump’s Freedom 250 unveils IndyCar racetrack in DC: ‘Imagine these views’
Whistleblower says CBP chief targeted senior staff over ‘political vendettas’
New Details: Alleged IED Throwers in NYC Had Naturalized Parents – IEDs Contained the ‘Mother of Satan’ Explosive, Rep. Roy Calls for Pause on All Legal Immigration
Schumer once blocked Trump’s move to fill the nation’s oil reserves, now he wants them opened
China-linked birth tourism under scrutiny as GOP lawmakers press Trump admin for answers
Liberal dark money boosts Democrats’ Virginia redistricting effort, massively outraising opponents
WATCH: GOP Rep Roasts Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz And State AG Keith Ellison over Massive Fraud Scandal Point by Point
EXCLUSIVE: Trump rejects shielding Biden records from Senate probes in executive privilege showdown
Breaking: NYC Bomb Attack ‘ISIS-Inspired Terrorism,’ NYPD Commissioner Says
DHS hammers Dems over airport security lines amid funding lapse
The Most Dishonest Headline We’ve Ever Seen: The NYT’s Headline on the Islamist IED Attack at Mamdani’s Mansion Will Blow Your Mind
Iranian Women’s Soccer Team Appears to Cry for Help with Subtle Hand Gesture
Tankers to resume normal movement in Middle East in ‘a few weeks’ at worst, Energy sec says, ending oil surge
Airport chaos escalates pressure to resolve DHS government shutdown

See also  UN nuclear watchdog says Iran nuclear site damaged in strikes

Critics of Sanders have defended the practice, warning that its elimination would “spike household energy costs and hurt farmers and manufacturers.”

American Petroleum Institute spokeswoman Bethany Aronhalt told the Hill:

Banning a safe, successful method of developing energy would erase a generation of American energy progress and in the process destroy millions of U.S. jobs, spike household energy costs and hurt farmers and manufacturers.

“Thanks to fracking, the United States is the global leader in reducing carbon emissions,” Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) tweeted in response to the announcement:

Sanders has long maintained the need for the elimination of fracking, promising to ban it during his presidential bid in 2016.

“If I win, we are going to ban fracking all across this country,” Sanders said at the time.

That call has carried over to his current presidential campaign as well. In September, Sanders called on his colleagues to support a ban.

“Any proposal to avert the climate crisis must include a full fracking ban on public and private lands,” Sanders stated, dismissing “safe fracking” as “pure fiction”:


Feds Warn Law Enforcement of Potential Iranian Sleeper Cells Following Discovery of Encrypted Communications
Trump’s Freedom 250 unveils IndyCar racetrack in DC: ‘Imagine these views’
Whistleblower says CBP chief targeted senior staff over ‘political vendettas’
New Details: Alleged IED Throwers in NYC Had Naturalized Parents – IEDs Contained the ‘Mother of Satan’ Explosive, Rep. Roy Calls for Pause on All Legal Immigration
Schumer once blocked Trump’s move to fill the nation’s oil reserves, now he wants them opened
China-linked birth tourism under scrutiny as GOP lawmakers press Trump admin for answers
Liberal dark money boosts Democrats’ Virginia redistricting effort, massively outraising opponents
WATCH: GOP Rep Roasts Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz And State AG Keith Ellison over Massive Fraud Scandal Point by Point
EXCLUSIVE: Trump rejects shielding Biden records from Senate probes in executive privilege showdown
Breaking: NYC Bomb Attack ‘ISIS-Inspired Terrorism,’ NYPD Commissioner Says
DHS hammers Dems over airport security lines amid funding lapse
The Most Dishonest Headline We’ve Ever Seen: The NYT’s Headline on the Islamist IED Attack at Mamdani’s Mansion Will Blow Your Mind
Iranian Women’s Soccer Team Appears to Cry for Help with Subtle Hand Gesture
Tankers to resume normal movement in Middle East in ‘a few weeks’ at worst, Energy sec says, ending oil surge
Airport chaos escalates pressure to resolve DHS government shutdown

See also  UN nuclear watchdog says Iran nuclear site damaged in strikes

Similarly, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) has vowed to ban fracking “everywhere”:

Story cited here.

Share this article:
Share on Facebook
Facebook
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter