| America’s political divide on energy has never been greater. Yet energy policy should be based on facts and reason. RealClearPublicAffairs’ Energy Realism page seeks to inform debate, and its Energy Realism newsletter will highlight the best op-eds, news, multimedia, and reports that the ER page has to offer. These curated materials will help lay the foundation for the energy policies needed to advance America’s economic recovery from COVID-19, while charting a course for genuine environmental leadership. Over the past week, international policy, climate cooperation, and the reality of more oil and natural gas usage led the energy conversation. Daniel Turner explains how China’s raw-materials dominance extends beyond controlling medical supplies—so relevant during the COVID-19 crisis—to rare-earth elements, or REEs, the minerals required for a green “energy transition.” Thus, by pursuing renewable-energy policies, the United States will fall into another China-dependency trap; by “going green,” we could end up “going red.” Speaking of adversaries, Ariel Cohen warns that recent comments by Vladimir Putin deserve the serious attention of U.S. policymakers. After winning a referendum that could allow him to remain as Russian president until 2036, Putin is eyeing territorial gains in Ukraine. We must engage more fully with our allies. Alex Flint and Joseph Majkut urge the U.S. to work with European partners, for example, to push back on the continued dominance of cheap goods manufactured abroad that ignore environmental impact—namely, those coming out of China. Staying with the green theme, Ernest J. Moniz and Lonnie R. Stephenson seek a reliable, resilient, modernized, and greener power grid to help lift us out of the economic slump caused by the pandemic. For all the energy futurism, though, oil and gas are projected to remain dominant for decades to come—which is why, as Albert Wynn explains, a recent court order to shut down the Dakota Access oil pipeline could prove so costly, hurting the oil and gas industry’s ability to transport energy safely and affordably. Jason Isaac explains why investors should appreciate the ongoing importance of oil and gas. We even have the chance to help other nations gain access. John Cicchitti hopes that the pandemic-driven fall in U.S. energy demand will spur the federal government to ease the natural gas industry’s unnecessary export burdens. And finally, the benefits of using more carbon-based fuels have largely been ignored. Craig Idso calculates how fossil fuel consumption and rising atmospheric CO2 levels since the Industrial Revolution have helped boost global crop production, with monetary benefits amounting to many trillions of dollars. In the News Ellen R. Wald, The Hill Tom Zanki, Law 360 Patrick Collinson, Jillian Ambrose, The Guardian Michael Smolens, The San Diego Union-Tribune Rebecca Beitsch, The Hill Matthew A. Winkler, Bloomberg Harry Pearl, South China Morning Post William Allison, Energy In Depth Rachel Koning Beals, MarketWatch Rupert Darwall, The Hill Vince Bielski, RealClearInvestigations Oliver Milman, The Guardian Imperial College London, Tech Xplore Leslie Hook, Financial Times David Almasi, National Center for Public Policy Research Fox News President Trump will tour the Double Eagle Energy Oil Rig and deliver remarks on energy dominance in Midlands. Texas. DW News US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is visiting Denmark to try to persuade Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen to stop work on the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline passing through its waters. CNNMoney Switzerland Companies with a strong corporate culture, good customer relations and resilient supply chains fared better than others during the coronavirus crisis, drawing new attention to these ... | 
