Friday, March 29, 2024

The Energy Crisis’ Silver Lining – Brought to You by Eco-Socialists

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The energy shock that has roiled global oil and gas markets has done one positive thing: It's exposed how politicians, activists and the green lobby successfully undermined investment in the sector.

Part of it was starry-eyed optimism that a green revolution was right around the corner. Part of it was pure , particularly in Europe. And some was just old-fashioned cynicism – the belief that as long as the Russian gas flowed freely and cheaply, there was no downside or cost to demonizing .

As Juliet Samuel writes in The Telegraph:

…sometime around 2014-16, regulators, lawyers and politicians began to run with the idea that the trashing of “big oil” (and so on) led by students in feathered war bonnets was costless, popular and green.

What followed was a co-ordinated effort to run down fossil fuel production, seemingly without a thought for the vastly different environmental impacts of gas versus coal or the need for Western economies and people to enjoy a reliable supply of energy. In 2015, the then Bank of England governor Mark Carney (yes, him again) gave a speech talking up the risk of climate “stranded assets” – energy investments that would be rendered worthless by legislation.

The EU excluded gas and nuclear from its list of “green” technologies eligible for “sustainable” grants, investment and the like. The UN issued ethical investment guidelines that discouraged putting new money into fossil fuels. Theresa May rammed net zero through Parliament without scrutiny of the cost and slapped the “price cap” on utility firms, which soon after began to go bust by the dozen. Last year, Rishi Sunak added “supporting the net zero transition” to the Bank's mandate. And the more production we shut down, the more virtuous we felt.

And let's not forget what happened here at home:

States passed net zero laws that, like ours, had no accompanying energy production strategy. Bureaucrats from to New York began to pressure insurers and oil firms to account for fossil fuel investments or answer in the courts for “climate fraud”. The Keystone XL oil pipeline was blocked. Investors, taken over by righteous and economically illiterate “environmental, social and governance experts”, pressured oil firms to stop investing and banks to stop funding them, and then went on a marketing binge to sell expensive “ethical” investment products.

None of that has changed, of course. Big Oil is still viewed as a monster to be slain and climate change is an extinction-level threat to humanity. Consider this gem from a year ago – pre-Russian invasion of , pre-energy shock that will plunge Europe into recession – in The Guardian. The author quotes activists who want to abolish oil companies, or at least have nationalize them as partial payment for the industry's environmental crimes:

Pro-abolition groups say this process would entail putting elected officials – not corporate executives – in charge of fossil fuel assets. The US government would slowly stop drilling or buying leases as it prioritizes lowering emissions and investing in clean energy. Nationalized ownership would allow the US to leave oil and gas reserves in the ground while simultaneously shrinking the fossil fuel company's grip on the nation.

Such public intervention would also prevent oil companies from simply shutting down operations, laying off their workers and leaving behind devastated towns and counties, as coal companies have done, Skandier said. “We need to consider that a lot of these communities are highly dependent on fossil fuel revenues, so we need to plan how we're going to build community wealth and diversify their economies to make sure they're not only economically stable but resilient to climate impacts in the future.”

And as for the present? Average people are suffering from drastically higher prices and, in some countries, the possibility of government-imposed rationing. Meanwhile, U.S. companies are rushing natural gas to Europe's rescue ahead of winter, rather than leaving it in the ground.

And that dirtiest of fuels, coal, is roaring back to life. Amazing what happens when green fantasies crash head-first into hard reality.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.

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Norman Leahy
Norman Leahy
Norman Leahy has written about national and Virginia politics for more than 30 years with outlets ranging from The Washington Post to BearingDrift.com. A consulting writer, editor, recovering think tank executive and campaign operative, Norman lives in Virginia.

10 COMMENTS

  1. Of course truth being left out completely is there is no threat of the earth or anything else burning up anytime soon. The Creator of this magnificent planet is still in charge not man. Yess we should do better in many areas taking care of our water sources. Weather, not our choice. It is what it is. The biggest problem above all things is the desire of evil people to control the masses. It’s an forever desire of Satan to rule and obviously he has many workers doing his dirty deeds. Eventually in a blink of an eye He that rules over all will make His Glorious appearance and it will.end.

    • Seems it’s always the far left that seems to destroy what Americans have believed in for over 200+ years America is self sufficient and it’s people take responsibility for their own lives. In the last 30 years we have become a nation half of our people want to be cared for by the government and it’s created a division of patriotic Americans who want to be left alone and live to provide good livings for their families. Now government has poked it’s ugly nose into every aspect of our lives, over taxing, over regulating and in the process have ignored the tenants of our constitution and bill of rights. The left continues to lie and cheat to gain power and oppression and tyranny are showing it’s ugly head. The Covid 19 event gave them the opportunity to almost destroy America’s economy along with taking away our freedoms and liberty. 2022 is the last stand for the right to regain some semblance of putting up a fight to regain the American hope to “make America great again”.

    • Correct- they do not recognize that it requires power to take on the harsh environment we live in. And that power coming from fossil fuels has done a great job in increasing both the comfort and the lifespan of humans. People who “get back to nature” do not live as long. (few ever really do- though they like to fantasize/fanaticize about it).

  2. The clueless environmental “activists” want to “shrink fossil fuel company’s grip on the nation”? What next, will they start trying to shrink big food companies’ grip on the nation? What about big housing companies? Big water? Big clothing?

    When it comes to making necessities unavailable in the name of environmentalism, where does it end?

    The irony, of course, is that when socialist schemes are successful, the suffering and deprivation they cause is not limited to those who oppose socialism. The socialists also suffer. Unless they are rich, in which case, they can feel important because they have everything they need, while the common peasants have nothing.

    • Those few at the top do not realize that they only have these common goods because they are available for ALL. What will they do when they have no workers capable of rebuilding their airstream? We only have these sorts of talents available because of the abundance of their availability. When the airframe mechanic quits because he has to farm for a living to stay alive, they are also caught in the dark. The same for all other amenities they now enjoy. Will they then turn to slave labor again?

  3. The stupidity and incompetence of our government leaders and the environmentalists is mindboggling. Lord deliver us from the stupidity of the worthless politicians and the Earth worshippers before we lose our country.

  4. Go away with your stupid plans. They don’t work. And we import way too much China junk as it is. No, we don’t want it.

  5. Very little consideration is given to the VALUE that carbon-based fuels bring to our quality of life. What do they want to see- each of us burning our furniture in our own fireplaces across the nation? To supply fresh water, to clean the air- all requires power. And power comes mainly from fossil fuels. Fossil fuels have lifted billions out of poverty, and supplied clean environments for them to live in. I guess the elite don’t like the idea of more people living…These really are anti-human policies.

    As for you elites- begin to show by example. Start living in caves and providing your own power. Then get back to us on how you prefer to live.

Comments are closed.

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