Bernie Sanders’ campaign released a new ad Monday touting his belief that hydraulic fracturing, better known as fracking, should be banned nationwide.
Called “No Fracking Anywhere” and narrated by actress Susan Sarandon, the ad says Washington politicians are bought and paid for by the fossil fuel industry because they support fracking. Fracking is the process of injecting water and other chemicals deep into rock formations to release natural gas or crude oil trapped within and is largely responsible for the recent U.S. energy boom.
“Do Washington politicians side with polluters over families? They sure do,” Sarandon says,” because Big Oil pumps millions into their campaigns.”
Sanders is perhaps the most hawkish candidate left in the race on tackling the challenges caused by climate change. Many scientists blame the burning of fossil fuels for causing global warming.
Sanders wants fracking to be banned across the United States, which many observers believe would hurt the U.S. economy. The fracking boom of the first half of the decade helped the United States become the world’s largest energy producer.
In the ad, Sarandon says Sanders wants to ban fracking because it puts harmful chemicals in to the air and threatens drinking water. The Environmental Protection Agency has found that there is not widespread danger to drinking water systems caused by fracking.
Sarandon ends the ad by saying Sanders would not be influenced by energy lobbyists.
“He can’t be bought by them because he’s funded by you,” she says.
