What Do You Think of Bernie Sanders’ Energy Plan?

Sanders’ ideas represent a growing viewpoint. He fared well in the Iowa caucuses and won the New Hampshire primary election. So although we normally like to give equal time to candidates (and we will do so later this year), we see Sanders’ popularity as an opportunity for engineers to weigh in on some of the hard issues facing the country in the energy arena. We want to know: How do seasoned engineers react to some of his ideas?

Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders wants to make a dramatic turn away from fossil fuels and toward renewable energy.
(Source: Wikipedia)

Mostly by way of combating climate change, Sanders is calling for an extraordinary change in the way energy is produced. His sincere belief is that “climate change is the single greatest threat facing our planet,” and he says it has prompted him to create a plan of several major pillars, including:

1. Acceleration Away from Fossil Fuels. Sanders proposes a carbon tax that he believes would reduce carbon pollution 40% by 2030 and 80% by 2050. He also wants to ban Arctic oil drilling, ban offshore drilling, stop pipeline projects like the Keystone XL, stop exports of liquefied natural gas and crude oil, ban fracking for natural gas, and ban mountaintop removal coal mining.

2. Investment in Clean Sustainable Energy. Sanders proposes investments in development of solar, wind, and geothermal energy plants, as well as cellulosic ethanol, algae-based fuels, and energy storage. As part of his move to cleaner energy sources, he is also calling for a moratorium on nuclear power plant license renewals in the US.

READ ABOUT ALTERNATIVE ENERGY:

3. Revolutionizing of Electric Transportation Infrastructure. To begin ridding the country of tailpipe emissions, Sanders wants to build electric vehicle charging stations, as well as high-speed passenger rail and cargo systems. Funds, he says, would also be needed to update and modernize the existing energy grid. Finally, he is calling for extension of automotive fuel economy standards to 65 mpg, instead of the planned 54.5 mpg, by 2025.

4. Reclaiming of Our Democracy from the Fossil Fuel Lobby. Sanders wants to ban fossil fuel lobbyists from the White House. More importantly, he is proposing a “climate justice plan” that would bring deniers to justice “so we can aggressively tackle climate change.” He has already called for an investigation of Exxon Mobil, his website says.

Read more about Sanders’ plans at his website.

Senior technical editor Chuck Murray has been writing about technology for 31 years. He joined Design News in 1987, and has covered electronics, automation, fluid power, and autos.