2007 Democratic primary debate at Dartmouth College: on Energy & Oil

Barack Obama: Nuclear power ok if we safeguard against waste & terrorism

A: I don’t think that we can take nuclear power off the table. What we have to make sure of is that we have the capacity to store waste properly and safely, and that we reduce whatever threats might come from terrorism. And if we can do that in a technologically sound way, then we should pursue it. If we can’t, we should not. But there is no magic bullet on energy. We’re going to have to look at all the various options.

Dennis Kucinich: Cost of nuclear energy ignores storage continuing forever

A: Well, I know a little bit about this because I actually blocked a nuclear dump in Ohio. And I was one of the few up here who actually spoke against having a nuclear dump in Nevada. The truth of the matter is that nuclear power is very expensive. They never factored in the cost of storage, which continues forever. I want an emphasis on solar and wind, drive down this energy curve of hydrocarbon consumption.

Hillary Clinton: Opposes Yucca Mountain; earthquake fault goes under it

A: No, but it would not be one of the options that I favor, unless, number one, the cost can get down for the construction and operation; number two, that we have a viable solution for the nuclear waste. I voted against Yucca Mountain. I’ve spoken out against Yucca Mountain. I think that recently the discovery--there’s an earthquake fault going under the proposed site at Yucca Mountain--certainly validates my opposition. So there are a lot of very difficult questions. But we’re going to have to look at the entire energy profile, in order to determine how we’re going to move away from our dependence upon carbon-based fuels. And I will look at everything, but there are some tough questions you’d have to answer with respect to nuclear.

John Edwards: No on developing more nuclear power in the US

A: Yes.

Q: Would you be in favor of developing more nuclear power here in the United States?

A: No.

Q: Period?

A: No. So that was less than 30 seconds.

Mike Gravel: Carbon tax can get us off of gasoline in 5 years

A: Yes, but let me qualify it. I would ask the Congress, but then I would empower the American people to put a carbon tax on. We can get off of gasoline in five years; all we got to do is want to do it. And to put a tax on gasoline permits politicians and bureaucrats to play favorites. You do it right at the lump of coal, and you do at the gas, and you do it at the oil, and then let it filter through the system properly.

Mike Gravel: Wind power is solution to oil dependency

A: Not at all. The solution obviously is wind power. If we manufactured 5 million of these 2.5 megawatt windmills across the country, we could electrify the entire nation. I’m talking about our transportation system. Why don’t we do that? This is technology off the shelf. That’s why I kept saying, we can get off of gasoline in five years; we can get off of carbon in 10 years.