Wind and solar are not the only power sources that produce little or no carbon dioxide emissions. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik, File)

Liberal politicians like Barack Obama, Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden, and John Kerrytell us global warming is the greatest threat to our national security and future generations, requiring the transformation of our economy to expensive and unreliable wind and solar power. If the left is sincere about this assertion, then they should support all energy sources that reduce carbon dioxide emissions. This presents conservatives an excellent opportunity to call the left’s bluff or make them put their money where their collective mouth is.
Wind and solar, after all, are not the only power sources that produce little or no carbon dioxide emissions. Natural gas power emits only half as much carbon dioxide as coal power, and hydro power and nuclear power emit no carbon dioxide emissions at all. Natural gas and nuclear power are available on-demand, unlike wind and solar power that are extremely limited on cloudy days, low-wind days and at night. Hydro power is not quite an on-demand power source, but it is much more reliable and predictable than wind and solar. Because wind and solar require conventional power backup, hydro and nuclear power actually reduce carbon dioxide emissions even more effectively than wind and solar, and natural gas emissions become comparatively smaller relative to wind and solar.
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Conservatives have long championed natural gas, hydro and nuclear power because of their relative affordability. Natural gas power and hydroelectric power are cost-comparative with coal power. Nuclear power is about 50% more expensive, but new technologies and more common-sense government regulation offer the promise of significant reductions in future costs. Even without any such future cost reductions, nuclear power remains substantially more affordable than wind and solar.
So why does the left demand wind, solar or nothing? This is a very good question that conservative policymakers can target. Global warming is a greater threat to the American people than global terrorism, you say? Fine, then stop obstructing the hydraulic fracturing (fracking) process that is responsible for approximately half of our natural gas production. Global warming is a greater threat to the American military than Russian fighters that simulate attacks on our Navy vessels in international waters? Then stop demanding we dismantle hydroelectric dams that produce affordable, emissions-free electricity. Global warming is a greater threat to our military than a rapidly militarizing China? Then allow America to generatemore of our electricity from nuclear power, as do nations such as France.
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The American people understand that wind and solar power are intermittent, unreliable and prohibitively expensive. The left, however, distracts public attention away from these costs and shortcomings by claiming no price is too expensive to solve the greatest crisis facing America and the world today. Conservatives need to remind American voters that even if the dubious global warming crisis is real, we can address it – right now and in a bipartisan manner – by removing the political obstacles that stifle low-carbon natural gas production and emissions-free hydro and nuclear power.
Pressuring the left via natural gas, hydro power and nuclear power will produce one of two possible outcomes. Under one outcome, the left agrees to stop opposing these low- and zero- emission power sources. The left achieves its desired carbon dioxide reductions while conservatives successfully safeguard our economy from expensive and unreliable wind and solar. Under the other outcome, the left refuses to budge in its opposition to everything except wind and solar. In the process, the left will lose substantial political credibility; after all, the left can hardly make the argument that global warming is our nation’s greatest threat while it rejects a multitude of reasonable, affordable and effective means to substantially reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
Checkmate.