Harnessing the United State’s abundant natural resources has provided the public with reliable and affordable energy for decades while also helping make us the most prosperous nation in the world. But this stability is now threatened by a green agenda that aims to stop the production of fossil fuels altogether and forcibly replace them with the Left’s preferred “clean” alternatives.
The result of this agenda, which is being executed by President Joe Biden‘s administration through regulations, federal subsidies, and executive orders, is uncertainty in America’s energy future. Though we are pumping more crude oil than ever before, oil and gas companies cannot be confident that their drilling permits or pipeline projects will not be blocked for ideological reasons. Nuclear facilities, which generate clean and uninterrupted electricity for about 20% of the country, are unsure whether they’ll be allowed to keep operating as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission weighs whether to extend their licenses. Even those parts of the country that have embraced greener forms of energy, such as wind and solar, have acknowledged that frequent blackouts are a possibility as they attempt to make an energy transition for which they are not prepared.
One of the most tangible costs of this uncertainty is higher energy prices both at home and abroad. In 2022, energy prices increased by 10.7% for domestic consumers — the sharpest inflation registered since the beginning of the century. And the costs will undoubtedly continue to climb if Biden succeeds in compelling power plants to install expensive carbon capture technology.
Abroad, OPEC and U.S. adversaries that pump oil cheaply and not nearly as cleanly continue to try and push oil prices higher by cutting production, knowing full well that the Biden administration’s policies will eventually leave us at their mercy.
All of this has produced a weaker America. And it was entirely avoidable.
America’s energy landscape is begging to be explored and used. It is also the cleanest and most efficient energy sector in the world. Past administrations have proved that taking advantage of these resources yields immediate and long-term benefits for consumers, for our global strategies, and for our allies. Even Biden tapped into the U.S.’s production of liquefied natural gas, sending it to our European allies after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, even though he then turned around this year and froze the permits of all new LNG export projects. His heavy-handed and incoherent policymaking must end.
A better energy agenda would prioritize domestic production by slashing bureaucratic red tape and removing subsidies that favor one form of energy over another. Despite what green energy advocates claim, fossil fuels are not the product of a dying industry. It still produces the vast majority of America’s energy, and there is no reliable substitute. So rather than trying to regulate oil, gas, and coal out of existence, the government should get out of the way and allow the industry to do what it does best: generate power — and lots of it.
The government should also encourage investment in proven alternative forms of energy, such as nuclear, and in newer technologies that show great potential, such as hydrogen. But it should abandon immediately Biden’s efforts to force the market to embrace green boondoggles that do not work, and consumers do not want.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM RESTORING AMERICA
Restoring America’s energy dominance will require an all-of-the-above approach. We should not abandon any form of energy, nor should we ham-handedly tip the scales toward favorites arrived at ideologically. Markets are best at sorting out what works and what doesn’t.
This should be a bipartisan goal. Energy dominance is crucial to our economy and global standing — without it, American consumers will get stuck with prices they can’t afford and U.S. leaders will have fewer tools to assist our allies and deter our adversaries. We’ve learned this the hard way, thanks to the Biden administration. Now it’s time for policymakers to reverse course — and fast.
