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Wikileaks Podesta Emails: Hillary Clinton Praised Fracking, Said U.S. Should Be The Number One Oil And Gas Producer

By Tara West
Published on: 13:16 PST, Oct 9, 2016

Wikileaks has revealed that they will be releasing more of John Podesta’s emails over the remainder of the election. The publication notes that they have released just 1 percent of the emails they have from the Clinton campaign chairman noting that they will proceed to release the leaks throughout the election period. The first batch of emails contained numerous transcripts from Clinton’s paid private speeches. These transcripts show that Clinton’s speeches in private take a far more conservative tone than her speeches made to the public.

The Podesta emails reveal excerpts from numerous private speeches given by Clinton over the years. Many of the speeches focused on policy issues and provide a glimpse into Clinton’s pricey speaking engagements. One issue that seems to vary depending on if Clinton is speaking to the public or in private is fracking and climate change.

Politifact notes that Clinton spoke to residents in Flint, Michigan, following the water contamination crisis and noted that oil and gas companies would need to meet three criteria in order to continue fracking in the United States. Clinton noted that “by the time we get through all my conditions, I do not think there will be many places in America where fracking will continue to take place.”

“I don’t support it when any locality or any state is against it, No. 1. I don’t support it when the release of methane or contamination of water is present. I don’t support it — No. 3 — unless we can require that anybody who fracks has to tell us exactly what chemicals they are using. So by the time we get through all of my conditions, I do not think there will be many places in America where fracking will continue to take place. And I think that’s the best approach, because right now, there are places where fracking is going on that are not sufficiently regulated.”

The statement made to the public indicated that Clinton was opposed to fracking except in circumstances when very specific regulatory guidelines were met. However, as the Wikileaks Podesta emails point out, this is not the tone Clinton takes in private. An email titled “HRC Paid Speeches” details excerpts from Clinton’s speeches, including some regarding fracking. (For the full list of excerpts select the “attachment” section on the email.)

In a speech to Deutsche Bank in 2013, Clinton noted that fracking was putting the United States and all of North America on a path to be “net energy exporters.” She touted the “new technology known as fracking” for the advances.

“The ability to extract both gas and oil from previously used places that didn’t seem to have much more to offer, but now the technology gives us the chance to go in and recover oil and gas; or with the new technology known as fracking, we are truly on a path — and it’s not just United States; it’s all of North America — that will be net energy exporters assuming we do it right. And doing it right means not sacrificing the environment in ways that are preventable. “

Though Clinton praising fracking for energy independence, she said that environmental concerns should also be taken into consideration. However, it seems the benefits of environmental sustainability was not just climate change, but also money in the pocketbooks of those “pioneering and manufacturing and exporting and creating” a global market for these green initiatives. In other words, green energy and climate change concerns could mean good money for her Deutsche Bank listeners.

“So I want to see us become the number one oil and gas producer while we also pursue a clean-energy agenda at the same time. I don’t think it has to be either or. I think it’s a mistake to think it does. I happen to think we are missing a great opportunity by not dealing with climate change, not just because it’s a rolling crisis that we’re dealing with, but also I think there’s a lot of money to be made from pioneering and manufacturing and exporting and creating a global market for how we deal with climate change.”

On Clinton’s current campaign website, she notes that climate change is a major issue and encourages green energy programs that will cut back on nonrenewable resource dependence. Therefore, it seems in the case of climate change and fracking, Clinton is somewhat split on her official stance as the private and public speeches are at odds.

What do you think of Clinton’s private comments regarding fracking?

[Featured Image via Andrew Harnik/AP Photo]

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