Clinton, Sanders explain why they're against fracking

(Image credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images)

last updated 7 March 2016

Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders took two different paths when it came to answering a question about fracking during the CNN Democratic debate in Flint.

Clinton said she does not support fracking "where any locality or any state is against it," and if the "release of methane or contamination of water is present" unless "we can require where anybody who fracks can tell us exactly what chemicals they use. I do not think there will be many places in America where fracking will continue to take place."

"My answer is a lot shorter," Sanders replied. "No, I do not support fracking." When moderator Anderson Cooper pointed out that several Democratic governors in the U.S. say fracking can be safe, Sanders replied that he's talked with scientists "who tell me that fracking is doing terrible things to water across the country." He also said he does not believe people are talking enough about climate change, adding, "If we don't get our act together, the climate that we're going to leave our children may not be healthy or habitable."

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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