Sanders says 12 years left to solve global warming, but can’t use nuclear plants

By Michael Bastasch

Vermont Senator and presidential candidate Bernie Sanders warned that humanity only has 12 years left to tackle global warming or face catastrophic consequences.

“And I’m sure you’re familiar with the scientific reports that tell us that we have all of 12 years to significantly cut carbon emissions or else they will be irreparable damage to United States and countries all over the world,” Sanders said during a town hall with Fox News Monday night.

So we have a moral responsibility, in my view, to transform our energy system and leave this planet healthy and habitable for our children and our grandchildren, and by the way, when we do that that, we create millions of good-paying jobs,” Sanders said during the Fox News town hall.

United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission/Public domain

The Vermont Yankee plant was largely replaced by natural gas generation, which means more carbon dioxide emissions. Vermont’s emissions are now 16 percent above 1990 levels, the opposite direction it needs to go to meet its goal of cutting emissions 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030.

The “12 years left” talking point originates from an October United Nations climate report that found global greenhouse gas emissions need to fall 45 percent by 2030 to keep future warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2100.

Environmental activists and the media took that to mean the world had 12 years left to avoid catastrophic global warming — prominent climate scientists did little to moderate or fact-check those claims for months.

The claim gained steam as youth activists blared it at protests and as prominent politicians, like Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, warned there were only 12 years left in promoting the Green New Deal.

When questioned by fact-checkers, however, experts admitted there was no 12-year deadline to avert climate catastrophe.

Sanders also told the town hall audience “we should phase out” nuclear power plants — the country’s largest source of greenhouse gas-emissions free electricity. Fox News anchor Martha MacCallum pushed back, however, questioning Sanders’ opposition to nuclear power.

“You think we should eliminate nuclear power, which I know they did in Vermont, but it ended up actually moving her emissions higher by 16 percent in Vermont because nuclear doesn’t have any emissions,” MacCallum said.

Sanders disagreed with MacCallum, but state-level data shows emissions did, in fact, increase after the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant closed in 2014. That plant provided 70 percent of Vermont’s electricity.

The Yankee plant was largely replaced by natural gas generation, which means more carbon dioxide emissions. Vermont’s emissions are now 16 percent above 1990 levels, the opposite direction it needs to go to meet its goal of cutting emissions 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030.

“I fear very much the kind of world that we are leaving to our kids in terms of more drought, more flooding, more extreme weather disturbances, more rising ocean levels,” Sanders said. “And when those things happen, by the way, they become a national security issue because people migrate.”

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Image courtesy of United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission/Public domain

21 thoughts on “Sanders says 12 years left to solve global warming, but can’t use nuclear plants

  1. You want renewable energy lay a cable up to Canadian power! No Vermont legislature ruled that wasn’t renewable??? Go figure!!!!

  2. If Mr. Sanders’ tax returns are “self-prepared,” why is there an entry of $900 on the tax preparation deduction line of Schedule A for 2016, and an entry of $220 on that line for 2017?

    • The Burn is above the law, a public figure. IRS immune.
      Just like IRS immune. Sharpton (the so-called “Reverend”) who owes millions.
      “Alfred Charles Sharpton Jr. (born October 3, 1954) is an American civil rights activist, Baptist minister, television/radio talk show host and a former White House adviser for President Barack Obama. In 2004, he was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. presidential election”

      He could deduct his Gov (taxpayer) $174K salary as a charity. The IRS wouldn’t give a hoot. The Bumister is a member of the “Untuchables Club”.

  3. The plan was never about saving the planet, it has and always has been about getting the nwo, one world government, breaking the back of America. That’s why in the debate with Zupan, his true motives were revealed, he couldn’t help but laugh with glee when Zupan said his brand of socialism was the biggest threat to America. Bernie could not contain his emotions, happened a couple of times in that debate.

  4. Ban fossil fools expand fossil fuels, or at least nuke… Burnee’s a dolt and the mush minded young’ins propagandized in the nea indoctrination centers have lost all ability to THINK for themselves meaning the countries in real trouble when their the majority..The “experts” (bill nye the science/veterinary guy) and a couple other hoaxters said so, even after the experts were pressed and fessed up it was untrue.

    They better be getting their story straight for the impending cooling period, how to make that
    into a gorebull$hit event. We gotta get control of the masses before they start seeing they like freedom
    over socialism..

      • This is great video, completely laughing and proving how bad the “science” is, propaganda on the other hand is magnificent.

      • Oh….this video was near the one you linked us too. Have to love these scientists, they are gleeful in describing how bad “the science” is on “the consensus of scientists” this is the problem with society today, we have no knowledge of statistics, what science is and how to spot liars and propagandists. Liars and Propagandists are easily found out by those with a questioning mind or coincidentally have read and studied the bible, which is why every dictator and despot refuse to have a bible in their country. This is a wonderful video..

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fA5sGtj7QKQ

        Like why does every climate rescue plan call for taxation, serious government take over of healthcare, college education…etc. etc. Too funny.

  5. This is such PR none sense. My only hope is they are building him up to knock him down. They don’t ask any hard questions and he never answers one, but resorts back to his schtick, which he does well.

    Lawrence Zupan schooled this man in the Vermont debate. So far he’s the only one to call him out. It’s so distressing when national news companies promote the crazy ideas, my Russian friends are shaking their heads and very concerned, they fled this talk and here it is in the United States.

    He’s always about comparing income, he’s the great divider. Mr. Sanders, how does our current minimum wage in Vermont compare globally? Please answer…….it’s ahead of 96.7% of all wages. Great job in creating envy, division and despair comrade, when perhaps we might be grateful for being so rich.

  6. Will this guy every stop playing the stupid socialist crowd that knows nothing and believes people like sanders? — We heard the same story first back in 1989, based on warming currents in the Atlantic. To this day, nothing has happened and as far as I know, know one has gone back to verify the currents are still warming.

    Going further, the only way we can live without fossil fueled power plants is to have no power when the sun doesn’t shine and wind doesn’t blow, but the worn out hippy isn’t smart enough to state the reality of what he proposes.

  7. When it comes to energy, Sanders is a babe in the woods.
    So are AOC and McKibben, and other such râble rousing pied pipers.
    Nuclear takes up the smallest footprint per MW, by far
    A 2000 MW plant would fit on 1000 acres and produce about 9 billion kWh/y
    Only 145 MW of field mounted solar would fit on 1000 acres, and would produce FIFTY TIMES less electricity than the nuclear plant.

    Closing down near zero CO2 nuclear plants, and replacing them with wind and solar, would be the most stupid of all measures, far beyond rational.

    The variable wind and solar could not be fed to the grid unless there were gas turbine and hydro plants to perform the peaking, filling in and balancing.

    But Bernie and his cohorts want to close down the gas turbine plants as well.

    Even Merkel, with a PhD in Physics, is not that stupid.

    She is importing low cost pipeline gas, via the Baltic, to fuel a greatly increased number of gas turbine plants to replace the production of the closed down nuclear and coal plants.

    • Correction

      The nuclear plant on 1000 acres would produce 2000 MW x 8766 h/y x 0.9, capacity factor = 15. 8 TWh/y
      The solar plant on 1000 acres would produce 1000/7 MW x 8766 h/y x 0.145 = 0.1816 TWh/y, based on 7 acres per MW.

      The nuclear plant produces 194 times the electricity of the solar plant.
      The nuclear plant turnkey capital cost is $12 billion and lasts 60 years, at $6000/kW

      The SIXTY-YEAR PRODUCTION-EQUIVALENT solar plant turnkey capital cost is 2 x 194 x 1000/7 x $2 million/MW = $111 billion, at $2000/kW.

      The 1st solar plant would last 30 years, and the replacement solar plant would also last 30 years.

      Closing down nuclear and replacing with solar would be a 100% sure way to lower prosperity, i.e., more poverty.

      • Addition.

        The solar plants would be on 194 x 1000 = 194,000 acres
        Bernie should have his head examined.

  8. Socialist Sanders, he now promoting the same BS as AOC twelve years until gloom & doom,
    just talking points as he runs around the states pushing his Presidential bid, so what’s he doing
    for Vermont ??

    People listen to this Buffoon,

  9. Babbling Sanders is good at spreading gloom and doom for the Country without any facts to back anything up. It falls in line with all his free s–t and no way to pay for it.
    The man is good for only two things- Running his mouth and making money off the stupid.
    Look at his record as a Senator. He’s never accomplished a thing which says something for his supporters.

    • You have hit it on the head, Bernie has never done anything but promise free stuff to the lazy idiots that are his followers. If it wasn’t for stupid people Bernie would not have had a political career. And if Vermont did not allow college students to vote in our state then Bernie would be a nobody. Vermont caused this problem and will be left in ruins because of it.

      • I agree. We should never allow college students or any non residents to vote in our State. Why should out of Stater’s be allowed to control our system and return to where they came from? That’s never made any sense to me. That’s just another way to get the liberal vote.

        • This is surely the crux of Vermont’s problems at this time……….only Vermont citizens should vote in Vermont. This could change everything in this state and Bernie would never have had a political career!

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