"Every time fossil-fuel infrastructure is built, it’s another step backward in the battle for a livable world. We have to stop all of this construction."
Washington Times (5/13/20) column: "Donald Trump said in a recent interview that China wants him to lose his reelection this fall. Considering that President Trump has backed up his tough campaign talk with even tougher actions with respect to China, even the most ardent Trump opponents would have to concede that China would probably prefer a more compliant president in the Oval Office...Further, Mr. Trump has been aggressive in leading America’s own energy revolution which certainly complicates China’s attempt to dominate the global energy market. He withdrew from the Paris Climate Accord, cancelled the anti-coal Clean Power Plan, opened ANWR, approved the Keystone XL and Dakota Access Pipelines, and repealed a record number of inefficient regulations...Despite that progress, if Mr. Trump loses reelection to Joe Biden, America’s energy industry would find itself like so many other industries – at the mercy of the People’s Republic of China. Consider that Mr. Biden wants to build 500,000 electric vehicle outlets in 10 years, fully restore the electric vehicle tax credit and put in place emission standards that go far beyond what the Obama administration put in place. Meanwhile, Mr. Biden is opposed to modern natural gas extraction techniques and is committed to solar power as part of a transition to 'clean energy.'"
If we're going to buy, there isn't going to be a better time.
E&E News (5/14/20) reports: "The Department of Energy said yesterday it will purchase up to 1 million barrels of sweet crude oil for storage in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve as part of its effort to aid oil and gas firms battered by a price collapse during the coronavirus pandemic. Under the solicitation, DOE said it will purchase crude from small-to-midsize U.S. oil producers. Delivery would be to one or more of three federal storage sites — Big Hill and Bryan Mound in Texas and Bayou Choctaw in Louisiana — based on bidder preference and scheduling logistics. DOE said the purchase would serve as a test of the current conditions of physical crude oil storage available to the reserve. DOE is asking for bids by 2 p.m. EDT on May 27 and will award contracts by May 29. Deliveries will take place in June or early July 2020. Democrats in Congress last month rejected the Trump administration's bid for $3 billion to buy about 30 million barrels — enough oil to fill the reserve to capacity — but DOE has said it still hopes to store the 1 billion barrels of oil that it has been authorized by Congress to store."
Glad to see King Cuomo's administration doesn't have anything more pressing to take care of...
Bloomberg (5/13/20) reports: "Nine states sued the Trump administration for allegedly abdicating its responsibility to enforce U.S. environmental laws during the pandemic, challenging a recent plan to relax enforcement due to worker shortages and travel restrictions stemming from the outbreak. The suit, led by New York Attorney General Letitia James, was filed Wednesday in federal court in Manhattan about six weeks after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said it would temporarily relax civil enforcement of various regulations during the public health crisis. 'The Trump Administration cannot give industries the green light to ignore critical environmental and public health laws, especially during a public health crisis,' James, a Democrat, said in a statement. Oil companies, chemical manufacturers and refiners have argued they need flexibility while struggling to get contractors and suppliers to sites, especially in areas under shelter-in-place orders. Although oil refineries and some other facilities are exempt from lockdown requirements, those waivers are not consistently being applied to third-party suppliers and contractors. An EPA spokesperson said the agency can’t discuss ongoing litigation, but said the policy isn’t a blanket waiver. 'We retain all enforcement authorities, and our temporary policy only applies on a case by case basis,' the spokesperson said."
