New article by Tom Harris at RealClearEnergy
Following the suspension of Russian oil imports to the U.S., the Biden administration has opened negotiations with Venezuela to try to secure the supply it needs to help lower prices. President Biden also attempted to discuss increasing oil imports from Saudi Arabia with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, but the Saudi prince rejected his call, as did United Arab Emirates leader Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed. Leading up to the 2022 mid-term elections, even Iran is now being considered by an increasingly desperate administration as a possible oil source.
Yet, the White House has insisted that it will not reconsider approving the Keystone XL (KXL) pipeline from America’s closet ally, Canada. Alberta Premier Jason Kenny is confident that the project could, even now, be completed by the first quarter of 2023, if Biden approved it. Kenny said,
“If President Biden had not vetoed that project, it would be done later this year – 840,000 barrels of democratic energy that could have displaced the 600,000 plus barrels of Russian conflict oil that’s filled with the blood of Ukrainians.”
The market response to having KXL about to come online would clearly contribute to a lessening of oil prices. There is no rational downside to the project.
Not surprisingly, conservative politicians have accused Biden of preferring to cut deals with human-rights abusers Venezuela, Saudi Arabia and Iran than simply agree to a pipeline that had received all environmental and other approvals to proceed. Republicans, and most recently 18 state attorneys general in their March 17 lawsuit, bring up the huge economic and job creation benefits KXL construction and the greater influx of Canadian oil would provide. They talk about how much safer and environmentally friendly this pipeline would be in comparison with oil imports by truck and rail. Republicans explain that KXL would contribute to enhanced North American energy security. The attorneys general especially contest Biden’s legal authority to unilaterally revoke President Donald Trump’s approval of KXL.
These points are valid and important. But, since they don’t really challenge the primary reason that both Biden and former President Barack Obama killed KXL, they will undoubtedly fail once again.
https://www.realclearenergy.org/articles/2022/04/04/death_by_a_thousand_cuts_until_climate_scare_defeated_825259.html
In “Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis,” Biden’s January 10, 2021 Executive Order (EO) that rescinded KXL’s permit, he wrote:
“That analysis [done in 2015 by the Obama administration], … stressed that the United States must prioritize the development of a clean energy economy… The analysis further concluded that approval of the proposed pipeline would undermine U.S. climate leadership by undercutting the credibility and influence of the United States in urging other countries to take ambitious climate action.”
Biden next put his own spin on the reasons for KXL’s cancellation, speaking about how
“Extreme weather events and other climate-related effects have harmed the health, safety, and security of the American people and have increased the urgency for combatting climate change and accelerating the transition toward a clean energy economy.”
The President then echoed Obama concerns about climate leadership:
“The United States must be in a position to exercise vigorous climate leadership to achieve a significant increase in global climate action and put the world on a sustainable climate pathway. Leaving the Keystone XL pipeline permit in place would not be consistent with my Administration’s economic and climate imperatives.”
There are no less than 30 references to “climate” in Biden’s EO. KXL’s cancellation was all about the U.S. setting an example to lead the world on climate change. It was virtue signalling on a global scale. As the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation explained in their January 23, 2021 article: “How political symbolism brought down Keystone XL,”
“A pipeline that became a referendum: …the economic arguments in favor of the pipeline could not overcome the profound symbolic value assigned to it by environmental groups and climate-focused voters. On its own, Keystone wouldn’t spell the difference between a green future and a “climate disaster.” But the pipeline became a referendum on the U.S. government’s commitment to combating climate change — a tangible thing on which American activists could focus their energies.”
https://www.realclearenergy.org/articles/2022/04/04/death_by_a_thousand_cuts_until_climate_scare_defeated_825259.html
Harris challenges politicians with sense to do something.
So, do Republican lawmakers, premiers, and industry associations seriously contest the ludicrous climate change symbolism underlying the president’s decision? With a very few exceptions, no. Almost all of them are too afraid of being called climate change deniers by climate activists and their media allies.
It is not just KXL that has fallen prey to the unfounded idea that we can significantly influence climate by moving away from fossil fuels. The coal industry was severely crippled by governments’ climate fixation. U.S. oil and gas producers recognize the impact of the Biden administration’s climate change/anti-fossil-fuel agenda. They see the climate-focused environmental, social and governance-investment movement sweeping Wall Street and how financial regulators are enabling compulsory reporting standards on sustainability. This will eventually lead to the exclusion of oil and gas from many investment portfolios. No wonder fossil fuel producers are reluctant to expand their operations.
In “Rules for Radical Conservatives – beating the left at its own game to take back America,”David Kahanereminds us that:
“A good general knows never to fight a battle on his enemy’s turf, terrain, and terms unless he has no other choice.”
By accepting and, in some cases, promoting climate fears and renewable energy myths, most conservatives have completely ignored this fundamental ‘rule’ in political debate. So, of course they lost KXL and will continue to lose on many energy fronts in the radical left’s ideological war against our freedom and prosperity. It’s time they finally fought this war to actually win.
https://www.realclearenergy.org/articles/2022/04/04/death_by_a_thousand_cuts_until_climate_scare_defeated_825259.html
I agree, Conservative members of Congress should stand firm for Biden to rescind his Executive orders and roll back Federal Regulations to those in effect Dec. 2020. The KXL, offshore drilling, drilling in Alaska, coal plants, nuclear plants, etc. are all needed In my view, he has not only weakened America but has harmed World Peace. My viewpoint here: : https://wp.me/p5DzAo-pr
This is a crisis they created to gain power & control over the people which is
why they reject anything sensible that you would do. It’s that simple!!!
The good news is found in a recent post:
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2022/04/05/did-you-know-us-oil-gas-drilling-up-60-this-year/
FRACK ON!!!
Let’s go, Brandon!
SPECIAL EDITION
When Republicans take back the House and Senate in November, they must demand the XL be completed before ANY compromise on legislation, budgets and spending desired by the democrats.
“But I’M the President now! Staff IGNORE Joe Biden and flock to Barack Obama during ex-President’s first trip back to White House…”. – Daily Mail
Tell them through the ballot box
The Daily Mail is not exaggerating. Here’s a video of the episode:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ff0lmPuFebc
Without exception, everyone there ignores Biden.
And the violins played on
Why would anyone object to violins on television?
Emily Litella
Not who votes that counts.
Biden himself doesn’t think about anything other than what flavor of ice cream to have. Those behind him calling the shots seem to have the attitude that they will endear themselves to lunatic fringe groups if they gain more votes than they lose (in their analysis). We will see in November. Incredible how the USA went from exporter to beggar in the transition from Trump to Biden, maybe even incredible enough to sway the votes back toward reality?
We will see in November.
________________________________
Democrats will be testing new improvements
to the process they used to “win” in 2020.
Here in Wisconsin it doesn’t look like the
Republicans have done anything to improve
election security.
Never underestimate Republicans’ ability to frack things up. The establishment is willfully blind to election misdeeds. Are they afraid to speak up?
Are they afraid to speak up?
They don’t want the media calling them bad names.
They are complicit.
Republicans have tried in Wisconsin, but Tony Evers, a man who became governor through, shall we say, irregularities in an election vetoes whatever they try.
The “transformation of America” remember.
There’s a staff member to carry the nuclear “football.” Who is responsible for carry the Dependz?
In the Pacific Northwest where the lunatics are running the asylum, there is no grasp of the reality of the energy situation. The state had virtue signal legislation pass banning cars with internal combustion engines from being sold after 2030.
quite discouraging
““Transportation is our state’s largest source of greenhouse gas emissions. There is no way to talk about climate change without talking about transportation,” Inslee said, per NBC News. “This package will move us away from the transportation system our grandparents imagined and towards the transportation system our grandchildren dream of.”
The bill is part of a larger $16.9 billion transportation package called “Move Ahead Washington.” In addition to regulating powertrains, it also adds funding to install tens of thousands of new EV charging stations across the state, 25 transit electrification projects, four new hybrid-electric ferries, and free public transportation for passengers 18 and younger.
It also modernizes the state’s ability to support clean energy projects and adds tax incentives for cleantech manufacturing, energy storage projects, and clean energy sources, according to a Medium post from the governor.”
https://medium.com/wagovernor/years-in-the-making-one-climate-bill-is-allowing-legislators-to-boldly-reinvent-transportation-in-18e075b82ed8
The Pacific NW has the Columbia river hydro power.
Hydro power is almost infinitely variable so can make up for unreliables by just opening a valve.
That is one big assumption, that the votes still matter.
Thank you for this recital of facts. The KXL fiasco now belongs to Brandon.
Actions speak louder than words:
Biden, Trudeau, Johnson, Macron, Merkel, and so many other “leaders” are traitors, loyal to Klaus Schwab and the WEF – their objective is to destroy the economies of their countries, to force the Great Reset.
SCIENTIFIC COMPETENCE – THE ABILITY TO CORRECTLY PREDICT October 20, 2021. Update March 31, 2022
https://correctpredictions.ca/
CLIMATE CHANGE, COVID-19, AND THE GREAT RESET – A Climate, Energy and Covid Primer for Politicians and Media March 21, 2021, Update 1e May 8, 2021
https://thsresearch.files.wordpress.com/2021/05/climate-change-covid-19-and-the-great-reset-update-1e-readonly.docx
THE CATASTROPHIC ANTHROPOGENIC GLOBAL WARMING (CAGW) AND THE HUMANMADE CLIMATE CHANGE CRISES ARE PROVED FALSE January 10, 2020
https://thsresearch.files.wordpress.com/2020/01/the-catastrophic-anthropogenic-global-warming-cagw-and-the-humanmade-climate-change-crises-are-proved-false.pdf
THE REAL CLIMATE CRISIS IS NOT GLOBAL WARMING, IT IS COOLING, AND IT MAY HAVE ALREADY STARTED October 27, 2019
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2019/10/27/the-real-climate-crisis-is-not-global-warming-it-is-cooling-and-it-may-have-already-started/
THE LIBERALS’ COVERT GREEN PLAN FOR CANADA – POVERTY AND DICTATORSHIP October 1, 2019
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2019/10/01/the-liberals-covert-green-plan-for-canada-poverty-and-dictatorship/
THE NEXT GREAT EXTINCTION EVENT WILL NOT BE GLOBAL WARMING – IT WILL BE GLOBAL COOLING September 1, 2019
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2019/09/01/the-next-great-extinction-event-will-not-be-global-warming-it-will-be-global-cooling/
WHAT THE GREEN NEW DEAL IS REALLY ABOUT — AND IT’S NOT THE CLIMATE July 19, 2019
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2019/07/20/what-the-green-new-deal-is-really-about-and-its-not-the-climate/
THE COST TO SOCIETY OF RADICAL ENVIRONMENTALISM July 4, 2019
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2019/07/04/the-cost-to-society-of-radical-environmentalism/
This is what the elites’ general hatred, dislike, distrust and contempt for the human species looks like.
A little outside of the article, yet I think the transition period between governments tenure. The change of ideology vs. principle, and policy actions that come with them cannot be overlooked when it comes to ‘beating the left’ at its own game.
The deeper ‘one side’ is dogmatically dug in the longer the period of transition. If the period of transition outlasts the ‘one sides’ tenure in office, then the transition time is extended as policy shifts back to past actions and ideology. Especially where given a single term. This has been very noticeable in the American left’s cultural anti-industrial world view, and more recent their anti-American take on energy security since CAGW.
In this vein I am looking at how long the timeline for the complete decoupling of Covid policy actions will take before we’ve recovered the pre-covid normal. While the right played a hand. Some more than others. I think none went as far down the abusive path as the left -anywhere. Not just in the United States.
I’m not excluding the effects of the supply chain crisis, inflation, nor Putin’s invasion of the Ukraine. I think they are all interwoven in the fabric of left-wing economic cultural values. A much stronger connection to prevailing ideology than say the butterfly effect. Keystone is significant in another way as turning it off meant that mega donor democrat Warren Buffet got to use his train set to transport oil across the States. A much safer and greener approach than a pipeline, right? Not! Somewhere the left’s green orthodoxy got waylaid by crony capitalism and 10% for the big guy.
So far, I’m not reading of truly significant pushback by conservative politicians in North America or Europe on ‘getting back to normal’. Rather the debate seems to have gone to what is easiest. Debating what a new normal ought to look like. That’s home ground for the progressive Democrat. Any chance to weaken corporate workspaces. I think that is typical political leftism. A way to cling to an authority tool whose use is immaterial to future planning and ought to be dust binned, timed out, but will be used to further another social agenda of the left’s. How quickly Biden undid Trump’s economy was something for the book of political spite and failed ideology.
As it’s said, time will tell on Covid. The question is how much time it will take to take back America getting one step forward only to have to contend with the left’s two steps backwards.
An investigation into the activities of the Democrat crony capitalist network would only be effective if you trust the investigators to do their job properly.
I think beyond lobbying influencers that is the adverse effect of long-term bureaucratic careerists vs. short-term, four-to-eight-year administrative cabinets. Govt. agencies are fraught with managerial ’empire building’. You definitely need outside help to investigate that as everyone with a status below the target goes into CYA mode to protect what career they have. No one would trust HR’s offer of confidentiality. Too many have gotten the axe for their honesty… or naivety. 😁
This reminds me of that old guy pushing a rock up the hill. Don’t recall the name.
Sisyphus.
No, I’m not calling you a girly-man, that’s the name from Greek mythology.
Oh you mean the lying, cheating scumbag that wouldn’t stay dead?
All the emergency regulations invented for COVID propagation are ready and waiting to be used on any other slightest excuse desired.
Feel sorry for the Canadians. At any moment Trudeau can and will unleash the Canadian War measures Act (actual purpose) for no other crisis than getting his own way over peaceful protesters.
Republican lawmakers, premiers, and industry associations … are too afraid of being called climate change deniers by climate activists and their media allies.
_____________________________________________________________
And that’s the problem.
Vote Democrat if you want a gargantuan big brother bureaucracy to control your life.
Vote Republican if you want gargantuan big brother bureaucracy lite to control your life.
They’ll be called all sorts of things anyway – what’s amazing is that they don’t seem to learn.
Whether XXL is approved or not depends on how long you want to punish Putin. Biden apparently thinks Putin will no longer be a threat by the time the XXL could be completed. The oil is needed now and, in his eyes, that makes XXL irrelevant.
If you do a web search on Putin’s long game, you get much opinion. What he’s doing won’t end with the Ukraine. We might have to deal with Putin’s evil for a couple of decades. There is also a lot of opinion that the Russian people prefer a strong man to democratic rule. There may be more Putins after Putin.
The end of the Putin problem doesn’t come with the end of the invasion of the Ukraine. Biden and the Europeans should be thinking about security in the long term.
I agree with the long game believers … this problem will be with us for decades and climate change worries will not be acted on even by true believers because of the need for votes.
We are suffering from a variety of stupidities, two of the worst being CAGW and The End of History.
Good ole Vlad Putin has done us the favor of proving that history isn’t over. 🙂 He’s also demonstrated that the West is actually united, much to his surprise.
When we get too fat and comfortable, we have a habit of forgetting about reality. Well, reality is back and it says we should build the XL pipeline.
With respect to the head post, the ‘Climate Scare’ won’t be defeated as long as it’s expedient for the expansion of government power and its supporters in academia, media and finance.
With respect to your comments on Putin, I agree he is evil because he uses force, or the threat thereof, to meddle in the affairs of nations he considers to lie within his nation’s ‘sphere of influence’. Unfortunately, he’s not alone in this respect, and generally speaking, this is also expedient for the expansion of government power.
Is the current administration really any less evil or just a little different?
Some form of ‘government’ has always existed (I consider myself to be a so-called ‘classical liberal’, not an anarchist) and all governments employ force to some extent. So I think the degree of ‘evil’ inherent in any government comes down to how much force the government wields versus how much force the governed actively consented to.
The vast majority of government employees don’t turn over with changes in administration, just the top most political appointees. Compared to where the former want to go, i.e., expanding the government’s role in society, the latter can either put up a modicum of resistance or open the flood gates. And I think we’ve seen this in the transition from Trump to Biden with respect to energy, climate change and foreign policy.
I think it is rather the reasons the government uses force — consent rarely enters the picture.
Your security or their security?
Brandon was inaugurated January 20,2021. Is the January 10 date a typo?
Politicians with sense are generally in short supply.
More like rare as hens teeth. And their ideocracy has bloated into controlling instead of only influencing business and in extension, the economy. Worse than that, they are in each and every individual citizens daily lives without invitation. Impossible to ignore right down to how my toilet flushes. Defund the government. Its the only way to bring them back to heel.
I implore every government to immediately go all green energy. No fossil fuels for any energy needs. If they believe in it so much, then show the rest of us this way. Since all EV car batteries are made from minerals mined with diesel powered machines. Those are out. I doubt they have the solar and wind setup and batteries to power all their computers and offices. They wouldn’t last two days before a revolt .
We have a wonderful opportunity in Ukraine to rebuild better … rebuild green … rebuild only with green infrastructure use only green energy to do it.
The above is not really much of an exaggeration, as analogy, to the ridiculous bullshit that the dems are currently advocating (eg. net zero by … any date; no ICE; never nuclear; etc.)
The biggest disconnect they have is the very first word in the sentence.
According to Zelensky the only green that Ukraine will be interested in getting is the dark green on military equipment – he’s repeating the call for much more military weaponry to be sent to them, even demanding it should be enshrined in a new treaty.
Winning will become possible only when conservative republicans outnumber RINOs.
I’ve said this before and will continue to do so: nuclear power is far better than using up fossil fuel resources. We should be building new nuclear plants instead of squabbling over climate change (which we cannot control, period).
oddly, nothing scares the alarmists more than when the temperature doesn’t rise as fast as models predict
“..undercutting the credibility and influence of the United States in urging other countries to take ambitious climate action..” is an exercise in pure fantasy.
We may have a chance to influence Europe, Canada or Australia with our virtue signaling but China and India control the growth of emissions and they are not likely to be “embarrassed” into changing policy. Even John Kerry understands that.
Why does the US have to be a world-leader in fighting Climate Change (TM)? Let’s question that premise, then go on from there.
I’ll say on the cuts…….
Europe Keeps Russian Oil, Gas Flowing Despite Tightening SanctionsGermany resists far-reaching energy boycott as allegations of civilian killings in Ukraine add pressure to increase penalties on Moscow
Biden is a useful idiot, but worse still, he is a cognitively impaired useful idiot.
The article has correctly identified the main stupidity of virtually all attempt to resist the attacks upon sensible economic and financial behavior. When the Catholic church invented destroying witches to save Europe from their wicked weather destruction, almost everyone succumbed to the meme and ceased speaking out for rational consideration of the absurd charges. So follow the oil companies, power companies, manufacturing companies, etc. etc. today. Instead of attacking out the real issues of climate propaganda, they attempt to counter with procedural practices which are likely to be the undoing of us all.
‘Instead of attacking out the real issues of climate propaganda, they attempt to counter with procedural practices which are likely to be the undoing of us all.’
Or spending big pr bucks to tell the world they are ‘Beyond Petroleum’ just before a major refinery accident or well blow-out takes place.
me thinks you have confused the two sides in that reply
Accepting the crazy belief that “greenhouse gasses” somehow regulate Earth’s energy balance is where the battle is already lost.
There are two ocean temperature limiting processes, both based on the formation of ice, that regulate Earth’s balance. Deep convection over tropical oceans limit the surface temperature to 30C by persistent reflective cloud formation. Sea ice limits heat loss from ocean water regulated to limited to -1.8C. These processes are why liquid water remains on Earth’s surface and have supported life for billions of years.
The lawsuit mentioned in this posting to reinstate the pipeline states…..
“[Texas] Attorney General Ken Paxton today announced that Texas and Montana are filing a multistate complaint against the Biden administration for revoking the 2019 Presidential Permit for the Keystone XL pipeline. The lawsuit states that President Biden does not have the unilateral authority to change energy policy that Congress has set. The power to regulate interstate and international commerce, including granting or rejecting permits for oil pipelines that cross an international border, resides with Congress—not the President. ”
I have no legal or constitutional background, but the lawsuit assertion sounds good to me. There is no rationality to shutting down KXL.
emergency powers trump all law or reason
Except that it is highly disputable that there is any climate emergency.
Emergency powers mean they don’t have to prove or support anything. Emergency is declared. It is a done deal, the power to act stems from that. Whether anyone agrees with them or not, only force can act against force. There isn’t going to any kind of popular uprising beyond the possibility of a vote rebellion, which may not mean anything at all anymore.
The greatest difficulty with that idea is that they have it set up so it is you that bleeds.
Sanctions work –
“Ukraine is a pinch-point for Russia’s natural gas trade with the European Union. The purpose of the Nord Stream pipelines, constructed in partnership with Germany, was to circumnavigate that problem. It raised the potential for greater EU independence from the US and, with an EU commitment to defence union, presented a possible threat to the US dominance of NATO.
Consequently, the US applied unrelenting pressure on the EU, including enforcing sanctions on German companies, to halt the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. In response to Russia’s official recognition of the DPR & LPR, German Chancellor Olaf Sholtz immediately announced that Germany would not certify Nord Stream 2 for operational use. Russia began it’s military operation in Ukraine three days later”