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on April 01, 2020
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What Would a Joe Biden Fracking Ban Look Like? Part Seven: Rising Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Written by Isaac Orr
in Energy, Environment

During the Democrat debate between Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and former Vice-President Joe Biden on Sunday, March 15, 2020, Vice-President Biden stated that he would allow “no new fracking” as a means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. However, banning fracking would cause  greenhouse gas emissions from Minnesota power plants to increase by approximately 25 percent above estimated 2019 levels. Greenhouse gas emissions would increase because a fracking ban would triple the cost of generating electricity with natural gas, making it impossibly expensive to use. As a result, Minnesota utilities would likely return to burning more coal to generate electricity, which emits...

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on March 24, 2020
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What Would a Joe Biden Fracking Ban Look Like? Part Four: Holy $1,325 Heating Bill Increase, Batman!

Written by Isaac Orr
in Climate, Energy, Environment, Minnesota Economy

During the Democrat debate between Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and former Vice-President Joe Biden on Sunday, March 15, 2020, Vice-President Biden stated that he would allow “no new fracking,” but such a policy would cause the heating bill for the average Minnesota household to increase by about $1,330 every year because fracking is crucial for natural gas production. This article is the fourth installment in this series. According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce study, "What if Hydraulic Fracturing Was Banned?," a fracking ban would cause natural gas prices to increase from $1.80 per thousand cubic feet (MCF) today, to $12...

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on March 17, 2020
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What Would a Joe Biden Fracking Ban Look Like? A Series

Written by Isaac Orr
in Climate, Energy, Environment, Uncategorized

During the Democrat debate on Sunday, March 15, 2020, between Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and former Vice-President Joe Biden, Vice-President Biden stated that he would allow "no new fracking," and touted his role in spending $90 billion on the solar industry as part of the Obama administration's stimulus package. While the Biden campaign is reportedly trying to walk back this claim, stating that the former Vice-President misspoke, no one can know for sure what Mr. Biden meant, but we can know a fracking ban would have a devastating impact on the American economy, increase the cost of energy, reduce our national...

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on September 02, 2019
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Clueless Minneapolis City Leaders and Sam Rockwell Are the Problem, Not Natural Gas Use

Written by Isaac Orr
in Climate, Energy, Environment

Elected officials and planners in the city of Minneapolis are lamenting the fact that carbon dioxide emissions from natural gas increased in 2018, and that the city is not on track to meet it's 2050 CO2 emissions targets, according to an article in the Star Tribune. Sam Rockwell, who is the president of the Minneapolis Planning Commission, also wrote to the Strib that natural gas use must be slashed, and encouraged Minneapolis to follow the lead of Berkeley California, and ban the use of natural gas in new construction. However, it is the unrealistic, expensive, and ultimately heartless carbon dioxide emissions...

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on July 17, 2019
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Rebuking Renewables: Le Sueur County Places Moratorium on Solar Gardens and Solar Farms

Written by Isaac Orr
in Climate, Energy, Environment

It looks like the Community Solar Gardens aren't very popular with the locals  in Le Sueur County. Earlier in July, the Planning and Zone commission voted to enact a moratorium, or temporary suspension, on new solar facilities. The moratorium, which will ban applications for new solar projects for one year, comes at a time when solar facilities are being cited closer to city limits and residential properties. According to KEYC in Mankato: “Separation distances from residential properties is one thing that people are very concerned about. They don’t want to have these panels 50 feet from their house, and by taking this...

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