1/16/2024

Energy Realism this past week highlighted the hypocrisy and self-contradictions of the Biden administration when it comes to reaching their own climate and energy goals.

Chris Horner got us started last week: the U.S. Senate is likely to soon hold a floor vote on the nomination of former Obama EPA “climate” guru Joe Goffman to be Assistant Administrator for the Office of Air and Radiation at the Biden EPA. It is incumbent upon the Senate to finally assess Mr. Goffman’s record before re-joining the agency, what he did and did not disclose about that record, and how it is possible he has remained involved in a key item for which he served as a critical advisor. Goffman and Biden are climate zealots that are not realistic on energy. Pete McGinnis looks at how the administration is favoring less reliable and more expensive wind energy, while trying to block oil and gas production. This is an obvious problem: oil and gas currently meet 65% of our energy demand. We already know that picking energy winners and losers with policy makes no sense. Chris Latch explains why the U.S. natural gas industry, for instance, continues to lower its emissions while enhancing its operational practices. Again, oil and gas have been working to be a critical part of the solution on climate and energy.

But none of this is surprising. The hypocrisy and non-thinking of the Biden administration marches on. Ireland et al. detail how the administration’s own policies are blocking their own climate goals. The nation’s manufacturers, for instance, are already well-regulated. They have been for decades. Costly new regulations would negatively impact the U.S. construction industry, ramp up sales in the U.S. for foreign competitors, and we would all witness the same presidential administration that worked so steadfastly to champion the IIJA become the very administration to stifle it. Our Essential Reading this week then comes from Joseph Toomey. The progressive goal has been to dangerously and artificially increase the cost of fossil fuels to force the adoption of the climate panacea: an endless amount of wind, solar, and electric cars.