| Summer is in full swing, and many Americans are trying to put two years of pandemic shutdowns and shut-ins behind us by getting out and enjoying the great outdoors. A couple of us certainly did last week, visiting Arches National Park in Utah and Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado (see some great photos below). At the same time, high energy prices are dampening many families’ summer travel plans, though. The shock we feel at the nearly $5 average price per gallon of regular unleaded is compounded by inflationary pressure on prices for everything from milk to mobile phones. It’s a painful reminder that energy prices affect the cost of everything and reinforces the need for a balanced approach to energy policy. America is a nation blessed with incredible natural resources. Those resources have allowed us to prosper as a nation and to resist interference from others. We’ve taken that blessing for granted for way too long. Energy is the foundational building block of our economy. It powers everything we do. It is in our national interest to pursue an all-of-the-above energy policy capable of delivering abundant, affordable, reliable, clean, and secure energy. We should undoubtedly pursue new technologies that reduce the environmental impact of the energy we depend upon, but we must be honest about the time and investment required to transition to a zero or even low-carbon economy. Despite the need to increase global energy supplies, the Biden administration’s efforts to limit domestic oil and natural gas production continued in June. ConservAmerica commented on the Security and Exchange Commission’s proposed rule on climate risk disclosures. We are concerned that the rule’s prescriptive regime for public companies is unnecessarily costly, will weaken our country’s energy security, and ultimately undermine our climate goals by making the development of new energy supplies more expensive. On the good news side of the ledger, the U.S. House of Representatives approved the bipartisan Recovering America’s Wildlife Act (RAWA). While the bill remains a work in progress, it deserves support in the Senate. The intent of RAWA is to address a real crisis of endangered species and to do so in a way that encourages more cooperation between federal and local and private land managers. We believe the Senate should strengthen the legislation and then send it back to the House for approval. House Republicans also rolled out their “Six Pillars” platform for tackling climate change and the ongoing energy crisis. ConservAmerica President Jeff Kupfer noted that the platform would help tackle our nation’s energy and conservation challenges from a position of strength, leveraging our technological know-how and innovative capacity to reduce emissions and bolster energy security. As part of the Six Pillars plan, Republican leaders on the House Energy and Commerce Committee and House Natural Resources Committee introduced the American Energy Independence from Russia Act to increase LNG exports to our European allies, restart oil and gas leasing in federal areas, and advance energy infrastructure projects like the Keystone XL pipeline project between Canada and the U.S. Gulf Coast. The legislation includes a requirement for the current and future presidents to submit an energy security plan. Now is an excellent time to remember that royalty and leasing payments from federal lands and waters not only deliver affordable energy but are also a source of funding for conservation and maintaining our national parks. One of the biggest conservation successes of the previous administration was the Great American Outdoors Act. The legislation secured permanent funding for the existing Land and Water Conservation Fund, which has been a historically important program to conserving public lands and improving outdoor recreation opportunities. The damage from the recent flooding in Yellowstone National Park illustrates the need for a steady funding source for maintaining our nation’s special places. |
