Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump have starkly different track records on climate change. To shed light on the two candidates’ climate agendas, we sorted through their campaign materials and recent statements on the campaign trail.
Q: Are wind farms harmful to the environment?
A: Like all energy sources, wind farms have some negative environmental impacts. But getting energy from wind farms results in dramatically lower greenhouse gas emissions than getting it from fossil fuels.
Sen. Bernie Sanders has said “scientists tell us” that it’s possible to go carbon neutral without relying on nuclear power. Fellow Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Cory Booker, who backs the use of some nuclear energy, has said the data is on his side. Who’s right? Both have a point, but neither is telling the full story.
One reader sent us a comment about what should be included when calculating the cost of generating electricity.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly questioned the economics of wind energy, saying that wind “doesn’t work” without subsidies. Experts have differing assessments of that. By some metrics, wind power is already competitive with fossil fuels without subsidies. But other measures don’t come to the same conclusion.
In our final wrap-up of repeated claims for 2016, the president and president-elect rehash familiar talking points.