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And may the odds be ever in OUR favor...
Washington Times (2/10/26) reports: "The Trump administration this week will repeal the 2009 endangerment finding that the federal government has used for decades to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, White House officials said. The landmark 2009 Endangerment Finding is arguably one of the most powerful tools the government has used to cut emissions from the American energy and transportation sectors. President Trump now plans to eliminate it, paving the way for achieving his goal of deregulation and increased U.S. energy production...EPA Director Lee Zeldin began reconsidering the finding in March. The final rule rescinding is expected this week. The scientific finding was established early in President Obama’s first term and designated six greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide and methane, as hazards to public health. It noted that emissions from motor vehicles specifically endanger public health. It became known as 'the holy grail of climate change religion' because of the extensive authority it provided the federal government to regulate U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. Revoking the finding would directly impact the government’s regulation of tailpipe emissions."
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Heads are exploding all over Washington...
Washington Post (2/10/26) editorial: "Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin on Thursday is expected to announce what he describes as the largest deregulatory action in U.S. history. It’s about time. Congress passed the Clean Air Act in 1963 to regulate local pollution around the country, and regulators did that for decades. Then, in 2009, the EPA decided it would treat greenhouse gases like other pollutants, despite their damage being global rather than local. That declaration, called the 'endangerment finding,' has been used by bureaucrats ever since to dramatically expand the federal government’s power over cars. Now, the EPA will rescind it...There may come a time when the people elected to enact laws decide the modest benefits of regulating greenhouse gases outweigh the considerable economic costs. For now, free-market-driven innovation has done more to combat climate change than regulatory power grabs like the 'endangerment finding' ever did."
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Headwinds for Big Wind.
Cowboy State Daily (2/5/26) reports: "Three of Wyoming’s five statewide elected officials voted Thursday to start a process that could halt two controversial wind leases of state lands in Converse and Niobrara counties and to direct the state Attorney General to withdraw an appeal seeking to defend one of those leases. Secretary of State Chuck Gray brought two of the motions at Thursday’s State Board of Land Commissioners’ meeting in Cheyenne: one to start a process that could ultimately kill the Pronghorn H2 wind project in Converse County. Gray emphasized a district court judge’s December ruling saying the board broke its own rules to approve that lease...The about-face follows 10 months of controversy and passionate public debate over the two projects, which are slated to cover several thousand acres of state and other lands...Numerous members of the public, including state lawmakers, wildlife advocates, ranchers and the mayor of Glenrock, urged the board to slow or halt wind production in Wyoming. Their concerns ranged along myriad themes like the potential effects of infrasound on humans, the potential death toll of eagles, the detriment to the state’s landscape views and tourism, and microparticles from the wind turbines polluting grazing lands and waters."
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If it was written in a book, people would call the symbolism heavy-handed.
Daily Caller (2/10/26) reports: "Fossil fuels powered much of America during Winter Storm Fern, and in New England, a large share of the 'renewables' came from burning trash and wood, according to the region’s grid operator. Winter Storm Fern killed at least 28 people died, and left more than 800,000 without power as electricity costs surged. At the height of the storm, New England relied heavily on oil and other fossil fuels to keep the lights on, according to multiple reports. When it came to green energy sources, nearly half of the power came from burning refuse and wood as wind and solar output fell, snapshots of ISO New England data show...'When winter storms hit, Americans shouldn’t have to worry about whether the power will stay on. Unfortunately, years of misguided energy policies in blue states have weakened grid reliability and driven up costs for families,' Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Congressman Brett Guthrie told the DCNF...The Department of Energy (DOE) noted Friday that during the storm, oil accounted for 35% of New England’s power during peak generation, while burning trash and wood provided more electricity at peak demand than wind and solar."
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Governor Gavin & Co. are turning California into a case study of how not to regulate utilities.
New York Post (2/9/26) reports: "If you’ve noticed your electricity bill soaring, it’s not just you. Californians have seen their energy bills spike by 39% over the past six years — the most by far of any state, according to UC Berkeley’s Haas Energy Institute — thanks in part to the destructive wildfires that have torn through Los Angeles and other areas in recent years and policy choices that have shoved costs onto rate payers...California residents already face the highest cost of living in the country — families in the state pay $30,000 more for basics like food, gas, water and childcare compared to the national average, according to the Transparency Foundation...The massive increase in energy rates is due to a combination of factors: wildfire management costs, capital expenses, a costly push for renewables — largely shouldered by rate payers...Severin Borenstein, a UC Berkeley professor who studies energy rates, also pointed to subsidies for rooftop solar programs that have shifted costs onto other customers. By contrast, electricity rates in much of the country kept pace with inflation between 2019 and 2025— or even declined slightly."
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Energy Markets
WTI Crude Oil: ↑ $64.95
Natural Gas: ↑ $3.12
Gasoline: ↑ $2.93
Diesel: ↑ $3.66
Heating Oil: ↑ $243.65
Brent Crude Oil: ↑ $69.80
US Rig Count: ↑ 573 |
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Behind The Green Facade, Coal Powers China
AEA (2/10/26) article: "The Statistical Review of World Energy reports that coal accounted for 58% of China’s primary energy consumption in 2024. Oil was at 20% and natural gas at 10%. That means that 88% of China’s energy came from fossil fuels. Carbon-free energy (nuclear, hydroelectric, solar, wind, and most other renewables) only provided 12%. Since 2000, China has more than tripled its coal consumption and now uses more coal than the rest of the world’s combined usage, burning 56% of the world’s coal. As Doomberg points out, China consumes almost 20 times the combined consumption of coal by the 27 member states of the European Union, based on 2024 data."
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