House Democrats Remove looming embarrassment with oil executives – Are you excited about that?

They eventually realize that they (not the CEO of Big Oil) will be humiliated in the face of reality

Paul Driessen

Mike Tyson once observed, everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.

March 8 is the big day for the anti-oil Democrats. Having angered Big Oil executives during the previous two hearings about alleged failures to prevent climate change, House Oversight Committee leaders have set out a plan of action. tightening of rules.

At them Hearing October 2021, committee chair Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and chief investigator Ro Khanna (D-CA) affirmed that Big Oil is committed to reducing US oil and gas production by about 3-4% annually (total 50-70% by 2050). Otherwise, they claim, global temperatures would rise by 1.5 degrees Celsius (between the end of the Ice Age and the start of the Industrial Revolution, both around 1850) – which “science” says would be ” existential threat” to Planet Earth.

“I don’t need” an “American apple pie speech” about “meeting the needs of society,” Khanna told ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods. Exxon will reduce production? Yes or no? requested by the congressman.

In Hearing February 8, 2022, the two lawmakers demanded that oil companies “comply” with the “climate commitments” they had made. Shell and BP, they said, have promised not to emit their greenhouse gases. However, ExxonMobil and Chevron’s commitments only apply to emissions related to drilling and production.

That is completely inadequate, Maloney and Khanna argue. Not only do these two American companies “have no plans to reduce their oil production by a single drop.” Their pledge ignores the “huge 90%” of emissions from consumers burn the fuel they produce. The pledges and legislators also ignore emissions from China, India and other countries, which reduce US emissions many times over.

The two companies should have diversified into “clean renewable” energy. That’s how they can lower residents’ heating bills and pump sales, as well as climate-destroying emissions, the lawmakers proposed.

Of course, Khanna added, abruptly, he supported President Biden’s “decisive actions” to help bring down gas prices,” by asking OPEC, Saudi Arabia and Russia to increase production. amount of oil and “calling all oil companies” temporarily increase production.” (Foreign oil does not emit greenhouse gases?)

Lawmakers promised to hold a third hearing on March 8, when they will question oil company executives “under oath” and “actively investigate” the industry’s role in pushing for the “climate crisis” and asking oil companies to “stop funding climate misinformation.” Ms. Maloney warned the March hearing would be “the last chance for cooperation.” of Big Oil with Congress.

Enter Mike Tyson, in the form of skyrocketing food and energy prices – and bullets and rockets flying over Ukraine. The chairwoman abruptly dropped the investigation just days before it was held. She and her Democratic colleagues clearly don’t want to be humiliated by ongoing events and baking. surname will likely receive from Republicans, their witnesses, and their constituents. Reality can be tricky.

Even as post-Covid demand soars in a country and the world that still depends on oil, gas and coal for 80 percent of their energy, Congressional Democrats, the White House, related agencies, states and activist groups work in spouse Canceled pipelines, imposed rental and drilling insurances, slowed down permits and pressured financial institutions to block funding for oil and gas operations.

As they cut off production and supplies, the prices of oil, natural gas and gasoline nearly doubled in Biden’s first year in office. Food prices and almost everything consumer products and services spike in response. Wages are being affected by inflation. Consumers (aka voters) have voiced their outrage.

Then, Russian forces invaded Ukraine, massacring civilians and sending millions to flee to neighboring countries. President Biden continues to import 670,000 barrels of crude oil and refined products from Putin every day. Gasoline hit $7 per gallon in some cities on the day the hearing was held.

Finally, just as the congressional investigation was underway, Mr. Biden finally issued a ban on imports of Russian crude oil, refined products, and natural gas. Congress signaled it might legislate the ban into law. Global oil prices spiked to $110 per barrel.

The president could have asked his federal regulators to request the regulator of America’s exploration, production and pipeline companies – and begin expediting the permits. He could have asked climate activists, banks and financial institutions to pause the war on fossil fuels.

Instead, he is still trying to convince Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Putin’s ally Venezuela to increase of them oil production, to keep prices from skyrocketing further. He is still using Russia as a broker New nuclear deal with Iranthus allowing the Islamic regime to sell more oil in the global market!

Amid cries of “Putin increases prices,” the Biden administration and congressional Democrats continue to obsess over the “climate crisis” and push for a rapid “transition” to “renewable” energy. “.

It’s an exercise in distraction and magical thinking. Wind and sun are certainly clean and renewable. However, belt This widely distributed, weather-dependent energy to meet the massive and growing energy needs of the United States and the world, requires millions of wind turbines, billions of solar panels, billions of -batteries and thousands of miles of new transmission lines require large amounts of metals and minerals, completely unclean, renewable or sustainable.

Indeed, Biden’s initial 30,000 megawatts of offshore wind would require 110,000 tonnes of copper – plus large amounts of cobalt, lithium, nickel, aluminum, steel, rare earth elements and other materials. Only to get copper requires mining 25 million tons of ore. But federal officials and judges closed three proposed US copper mines. Again, that’s just copper.

How many tons of metals, minerals, ores and overloads will be required overall for wind turbines, solar panels, battery modules, transformers and transmission lines in a complete Green New Deal economy All electric? How much fossil fuel energy does it take to do all this work? Where will mining, processing and production take place? (Alaska, California and Colorado? Or China, Russia and Africa?)

How much environmental destruction, child labor and slavery will there be? How much will these materials cost, when demand soars? How much land and wildlife will be affected by mining, factory and battery installations, solar and industrial batteries visible to the naked eye?

Green New Dealers have no clue, and don’t care. They also claim that they will be exempted from “inconveniences”. we will be the payers. We have to care. The amount is really amazing. For clues about impacts and costs that are barely measurable, see this, this, this, this and this.

Europe and the United States already have minimal leverage (and credibility) over China and Russia on diplomatic issues, territorial ambitions — or open war. The touted Green New Deal would make the US almost entirely dependent on Chinese and Russian companies for “renewable” energy materials.

The media, academia, and federal agencies already have agencies against fossil fuels. But to make matters worse, Putin’s close friends have long been secretly funding money laundering activities funds massive disinformation campaigns by US and EU environmental groups to sabotage drilling, mining and pipeline programmes. United States Senate”Billionaire Club“Report, by the Environmental Policy Coalition”From Russia with love“Analysis, articles of investigative journalists Ron Arnold and Lachlan Markay (this and this), and the studies of Director of National Intelligence of the United States and United States House of Representatives Science Committee provides extensive, unsettling details that Democrats in Congress and the Administration have overlooked.

Invasion of Ukraine is promoting new attention these nefarious activities benefit the Sea Change Foundation, Sierra Club, Climate Action Network, NRDC and others.

The Maloney-Khanna Oversight Committee should investigate issues of money laundering and Green New Deal mining, costs and ecology – and leave the “climate crisis” and “price-deepening” fantasies to ministries. Hollywood thrillers and intrigues. But don’t hold your breath.

Paul Driessen is senior policy adviser to the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow (www.CFACT.org) and the author of Eco-imperialism: Green Power – Black Death.