Yeah, I suppose that could be it. Also, I don’t think that people realize that if a major party candidate called for a ban on fracking with the on-going war in Ukraine still an issue, it would send energy prices across the world skyrocketing. One of the whole reasons we’ve been ramping up production in the US is to stabilize oil prices.
Yet another reason it would be really nice if Republicans quit playing games about aid and support for Ukraine. The quicker Russia withdraws troops, the quicker we can step away from fracking.
No, Harris said she wouldn’t ban it - that’s not the same. Part of the reason we’ve ramped up production in the US is to stabilize global energy prices that were wildly climbing after Russia invaded Ukraine. If we hadn’t, there would be much broader global pressure on Ukraine to capitulate and cede part of its territory to Russia.
If she’d said in the debate that she’d support banning fracking, it would have sent global oil prices spiraling upwards just on the threat of it.
We get Putin out of Ukraine, we can start stepping away from fracking. But a permanent ban is unlikely for just this reason we find ourselves in now - geopolitical events may mean we have to do it again in an emergency. Without such an emergency there’s still a lot we can do to stop it outside extreme situations.