Warren Raises 2020 Stakes By Vowing To Ban Fracking

(The Washington Times) Sen. Elizabeth Warren Massachusetts Democrat said Friday she would immediately ban fracking if elected president drawing pushback from critics who said the move would cripple the U.S. oil-and-gas industry and force the nation to import fossil fuels. On my first day as president I will sign an executive order that puts a total moratorium on all new fossil fuel leases for drilling offshore and on public lands. And I will ban frackingeverywhere" tweeted Ms. Warren. Her announcement came with environmentalists urging her to join Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders who issued a statement Wednesday calling for a full fracking ban on public and private lands" putting the two progressives at the anti-fracking forefront of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary field. Environmental groups have decried hydraulic fracturing as a threat to public safety and the climate while critics warned that a nationwide ban would deal a devastating blow to the economy. Most U.S. oil-and-gas extraction involves fracking.