Energy independence is national security. That fact has been driven home to us by Putin's invasion of Ukraine. Because the current administration cut our own production of oil and gas, we were dependent upon Russia and others to make up the difference. Biden has caved to public outrage by eliminating purchases from Russia, but we still buy from Iran (who's mullahs say, "death to America,") and also from Venezuela (another communist country.) But why are we doing this when we were energy independent a little over a year ago? In fact, we were then a net exporter of fossil fuel.
The reason is because of the absurdity of the Green New Deal (GND.) The current Energy Secretary admitted during congressional testimony that the GND will cost the country tens of trillions of dollars. We currently have the cleanest environment of all the oil producing nations. But China and India have far greater emissions and are exempt from the restrictions of the Paris Climate Accord until 2030. China was classified as a developing nation! (Have you seen pictures of all the skyscrapers in Beijing?) If we as a clean energy country cut our emissions even further, while China belches out pollutants like crazy how are we to affect the world's climate? We will have spent enormous amounts of money to no avail.
We have cut our own production, but we are purchasing most of the difference from others, including the countries named above. So, if the objective of the GND is to cut global warming by reducing the consumption of fossil fuels, they have accomplished nothing--cutting here, but increasing elsewhere. In fact, we are replacing a highly environmentally responsible production with a dirtier source. It boggles the mind! Makes me wonder who is benefiting personally from these actions.
Furthermore, by cutting our own production we are losing tens of thousands of good paying jobs; we are adversely affecting the nation's economy; and we are driving up the cost of gasoline at the pump. We are the losers, Iran and Venezuela are the beneficiaries, especially at today's inflated prices for crude oil. It doesn't have to be this way. In March 2011 the Congressional Research Service said that our recoverable resources of fossil fuels are far larger than those of Saudi Arabia, China, and Canada combined.
Germany has already seen the danger of being dependent upon Russian natural gas. Bravely they have discontinued those purchases. They are now reimplementing fuel sources such as nuclear power that had been discontinued by the extreme environmentalists.
John Kerry, the administration's climate czar, fresh from a trip on his private jet which emits many tons of pollutants every year, said that if the "Ukrainian crisis is bad, ...wait until you see the flood of climate refugees." He is worried that Ukraine is diverting attention from his GND goals. I question whether Kerry's blood boils when he hears of children's hospitals being bombed or maternity wards being shelled in Ukraine.
But back to my opening statement: Energy independence is national security. The current US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm was asked what her plan was to lower gas prices at the pump. "This is hilarious," she replied laughing. "Would that I had a magic wand on that." It doesn't have to be magic. The answer is simple. The quickest and easiest way to achieve energy independence and therefore lower prices at the pump is to reverse all of the restrictions and impediments that the current administration has imposed from day one in their war on fossil fuels.
Peter Gilderson, Madison.
