Just the bad and the ugly

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DAILY ENERGY NEWS | 08/19/2024

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The Biden-Harris Inflation Reduction Act
climate bill turns two.

The Daily Caller (8/17/24) reports: "After two years, the results of President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) include a growing price tag, energy market distortions, and large payouts to left-wing activist organizations. Biden signed the IRA into law on August 16, 2022, hailing the massive legislative package as a transformative law that would help to usher in a new, green energy-fueled economy and create hundreds of thousands of jobs in the process. Two years in, the bill’s price tag has grown, IRA-backed industries like offshore wind are struggling, energy markets have been distorted and activist organizations and groups laden with Democratic Party insiders have been juiced with taxpayer cash thanks to the legislation... Initial estimates projected that the IRA contained nearly $400 billion worth of tax credits for energy, but the eventual total costs could end up being far greater, with Goldman Sachs projecting in April 2023 that the true cost of those credits could end up reaching about $1.2 trillion over ten years. In February, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) increased its estimates for the cost of the IRA’s energy provisions through fiscal year 2033 by $428 billion. 'The bill that passed with Vice President Harris’s tie-breaking vote in the Senate will turn out to be one of the most expensive boondoggles in history. And it’s all based on the false premise that American citizens are too stupid to make decisions about how they heat their homes, do their jobs, cook their food and even the cars they drive,' Dan Kish, a senior research fellow at the Institute for Energy Research, told the DCNF. 'It was never about the climate, but rather about increasing Washington’s power over industry and people in the U.S.'”

"As can be seen from Vice President Harris’ announcement, inflation is not fixed. The IRA likely made it worse by raising energy and transportation costs and putting domestic energy at a disadvantage."

– D iana Furchtgott-Roth, Heritage Foundation

A pioneer in daytime television who was always willing to hear different perspectives.

Reuters (8/19/24) reports: "Phil Donahue, who changed the face of U.S. daytime television with a long-running syndicated talk show that highlighted topical and often provocative social and political issues, has died at age 88, NBC's 'Today' show reported on Monday, citing a statement from his family. Donahue died surrounded by his family on Sunday following an illness, the 'Today' show reported. Debuting in 1970 when daytime television offered its mostly female viewers a diet of soap operas, game shows and homemaking programs, Donahue's show tackled subject matter once considered taboo for television - including abortion, the sexual revolution and race relations. With his boyish charm, irrepressible energy and thick white hair, Donahue was known for aggressively questioning his guests and bounding through the studio to give his audience a chance to be heard."

Sustainable fuels are losing altitude.

Just the News (8/17/24) reports: "Sustainable aviation fuel is five times more expensive to produce than standard jet fuel. The expense will drive up the cost of air travel, putting it outside the budgets of more Americans. Multiple automakers are reconsidering their push to transition their fleets to electric vehicles, and now the airline industry is altering its decarbonization targets. Air New Zealand recently retreated from its 2030 climate goals. The company has canceled its commitment to reducing its carbon intensity by 28.9% from its 2019 levels by 2030 and announced that it will withdraw from the Science Based Targets Initiative. In its announcement on the change, the company cited various factors: the availability of new aircraft, the affordability and availability of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), and the need for more regulatory support... Aviation accounts for only 2% of global carbon dioxide emissions and 12% of all carbon emissions are from transportation, according to the Department of Energy. For comparison, heat and electricity account for 32%, manufacturing and construction are 13%, and agriculture is 12% of total global emissions. Dan Kish, senior vice president of policy for American Energy Alliance, told Just the News that he thinks it’s part of the degrowth mentality that is so much a part of the effort to reach net-zero. Despite this small contribution to emissions, air travel represents growth, prosperity and freedom. 'It has a lot more to do with leaving no stone unturned in terms of making life miserable, more miserable for people than it need be, under the guise of saving the climate, which this certainly will not do,' Kish said."

Was that supposed to be a laugh line?

Unregulated Podcast Episode #195:

Liquid gold.

Breitbart News (8/17/24) reports: "The policy implications of those words are vast: We are not running out of energy. In fact, it is just the opposite. In so declaring, Trump threatens to overturn a half-century of liberal orthodoxy: We have an energy crisis, also an environmental crisis, so we need to cut back. Not only that, we need bureaucratic overseers to tell us how to live our lives: Less meat. No more gas stoves. Use mass transit. Eat insects. And on and on... In fact, Trump has been talking about 'energy dominance' for a long time. In his July 18 acceptance speech to the Republican convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, he took it to a new level, speaking of 'liquid gold under our feet': Oil."

Energy Markets

WTI Crude Oil: ↓ $76.15
Natural Gas: ↑ $2.17
Gasoline: ↓ $3.41

Diesel: ↓ $3.73
Heating Oil: ↓ $230.84
Brent Crude Oil: ↓ $79.12
US Rig Count: ↑ 636

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