Low prices for natural gas undermine new reactors, but also renewables like wind

As the Associated Press reports, low prices for natural gas associated with "hydraulic fracturing" ("fracking") have helped make new atomic reactors even less economical than they already were. However, wind power is also feeling the competition, as the hazardous chemicals used in "fracking," and their risks to drinking water supplies, seem to be getting a pass, as is the prospect of even more widespread natural gas usage becoming "the next big climate problem." Of course, Arjun Makhijani's Carbon-Free, Nuclear-Free: A Roadmap for U.S. Energy Policy has shown since 2007 that phasing out not only nuclear power, but also all fossil fuels, including natural gas, is not only technically feasible but also affordable. Those dirty, dangerous and expensive energy sources can be replaced with efficiency and renewables, it's simply a matter of political will.