Energy expert Marita Noon notes that the U.S. economy has an awful record for jobs creation under President Obama, and gives "kudos" to the President and the U.S. Forest Service for their work in keeping people out of work -- whether it is the long-delayed Keystone Pipeline project or the FInley Basin Exploration Projecty in Montana, the strategy is delay, delay, delay -- so they cannot be blamed for saying No but will never say Yes.
The U.S. used to be the "land of the free, the home of the brave." Today, government more and more tells us what we can and cannot do. We MUST purchase health insurance that we do not want or need or pay an increasingly large fine. We CANNOT purchase incandescent light bulbs -- period. Did Washington outlaw horses in order to usher in the automobile era? Did Washington outlaw the manual typewriter to encourage people to purchase computers? So why must Washington turn ordinary citizens into criminals for merely wanting to use their old technologies? Maybe somebody is making a profit?
The myths about hydraulic fracturing (fracking) are myriad and cynical -- spread by haters of fossil fuels and by those who want to see the United States crippled as a result of shutting down the bulk of the traditional energy sector in favor of heavily subsidized "renewables" and forcing a massive shrinkage of living standards for most Americans (but not the elites). The truth is that fracking has evolved into a virtually benign operation that relies heavily on brackish water that is processed and often reused.
Yes, oil, gas, and coal producers should be worried—and the individuals and industries that count on America’s abundant, available and affordable energy should be afraid, very afraid.
Existing wind turbine technology may provide intermittent electric power that, with huge subsidies, can be "competitive" in price with coal and oil - but the turbines chop up bald and golden eagles and other endangered bird species like Cuisinarts. Solar arrays can confuse migratory water birds, including the brown pelican, into thinking they are flying into a water body but instead have their feathers fried or their heads damaged. Meanwhile, Interior Secretary Sally Jewell has just authorized a 30-year take permit to protect wind farms from liability under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. In a world where the President "pardons" the Thanksgiving turkey (though we doubt he eats tofurkey!), this is borderline schizophrenia.
With domestic oil and natural gas production soaring thanks to fracking, the nation is taking a harder look at subsidies and mandates for so-called "Green" energy. EPA for the first time proposed to reduce the amount of ethanol that has to be added to gasoline. An Arizona state agency just added a $5.00 monthly fee for solar customers to help pay for use and maintenance of the state's power grid. And 52 House members have signed a letter calling for the end of the wind production tax credit just as the sixth 20,000-pound turbine blade broke off in Illinois and sent shrapnel 1,500 feet away from the turbine hub -- two to three times the legal setbacks for homes and highways.
So a few cities in Colorado and far-left Oberlin, Ohio, have passed fracking bans -- but do they dare pass bans on the sale and use of gasoline made from fracked oil, or of natural gas recovered via this controversial process? Thank goodness existing law protects citizens of single towns from being hoodwinked by activists into at least some very bad policy decisions. Yeah, we once got people to sign a petition banning dihydrogen monoxide as a dangerous substance!
With China controlling 85% of the world's production of rare earth elements, the rest of the world -- and in particular, the U.S. economy -- is beholden to China for its own natioanl security and the future of its high-tech economy. This could change with a determined effort to overcome environmentalist objections and reinvigorate U.S. production of many of these valuable minerals. But will enough politicians decide that jobs and security are more valuable than keeping minerals-bearing domestic lands "pristine"?
The 1973 OPEC oil embargo revealed a serious weakness in America's energy and national security, one that has plagued this nation ever since. But fracking, horizontal drilling, and energy diversification that includes natural gas for long-haul trucking and electric vehicles for short-haul, light duty work have turned things around.
Environment America's Margie Alt has found a new "cause" to enrich her group's coffers: scaring the bejeesus out of Americans by claiming that fracking has a "damaging footprint." Alt's group, oddly enough, is at odds with kjey Obama Administation officials. And yet, this lemming-like movement is gaining ground!
Look closely at the energy-related news stories of the past dozen or so days, and, between the lines, you’ll see a theme: government makes predictions and assertions that cannot be backed up by data to protect or project preferred messaging.
While other countries are changing course and shedding the unsustainable policies, America stands apart from them by continuing to push, as the Washington Post editorial board encourages, building “the cost of pollution into the price of energy through a simple carbon tax or other market-based mechanism.” President Obama’s nominee to chair the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Ron Binz, believes in regulation and incentives to force more renewables and calls natural gas a “dead end.”
Net metering has been around since the early 1980s when solar panels were expensive and few people had them. But the dynamics changed drastically when states began passing renewable portfolio standards (RPS) that required predetermined percentages of electricity be generated from renewable sources—some even specified which sources are part the mix and how much of the resource was required. For example, in my home state of New Mexico, the Diversification Rule requires that 1.5% of the RPS must be met by “distributed generation” (read: rooftop solar). Arizona requires 30% of the RPS be derived from “distributed energy technologies” (once again, rooftop solar).
Energy is a big part of the entire Middle East discussion. Many people believe that if the U.S. were not dependent on OPEC oil, we’d have no involvement in the centuries-old tribal conflicts. Any vote for the President’s plan should be tied to decreasing dependence, increasing independence—or, more accurately, North American oil security. Two specific policy directives are needed. First, tie any authorization of military action in Syria to approval of the Keystone pipeline,.... Second, allow access to domestic oil and gas resources and expedite drilling permits on federal lands.
With nearly 300 power plants scheduled to be shut down in the next few years, and with environmentalists both opposing any form of electricity generation that is effective, efficient, and economical and to mining the raw materials needed to build the wind turbines, solar arrays and other "renewables" they claim to want—only one conclusion can be made: Environmentalists want you powerless.