The Progressive Climate Change

Movement Shouldn't be

Surprised that the

Biden Administration Loves Oil

By: Shawn Alli
Posted: May 11, 2022

Biden Administration Loves Oil & Natural Gas Industry

In a post-COVID, post-Trump and post-Ukraine world, climate change activists were giddy with excitement. It was now their time to shine. After 4 years of Republicans at the helm, they were in charge...until they weren't. Just like 2016, Bernie Sanders got side-walled and became a stooge of the mainstream Democrat Biden administration. Progressives believed that as long as Sanders and Elizabeth Warren were part of the administration, it would be clear sailing for renewable wind, solar and water energy.

But almost a year and a half later, there's no progress to be seen as the Democrats control the House, the Senate and the White House. A trifecta of liberalism and yet...there's no real momentum on climate change initiatives. Even after the lockdown and the invasion of Ukraine. The idea of getting off oil and natural gas hasn't taken off. And if it has, the only possible solution is dangerous nuclear power.

So what happened? Why did the Biden administration fail on passing climate change legislation? You can say that it’s the Republicans' fault. But that's an easy scapegoat. The reality is that the Biden administration is worse off than the previous Trump administration in putting out fires. They can't get anything done because there are too many fires. The Afghanistan exit scandal, [1] [2] the Hunter Biden scandal, [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] critical race theory, [8] [9] [10] the FDA scandal, [11] [12] vaccine issues, [13] [14] immigration, [15] the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and to top it off...abortion.

One could probably forgive the Biden administration for being overwhelmed. But that's true of almost all administrations. Most don't get a honeymoon period because there's so many things going wrong with a country at any given time. But Biden has had more than a year to get things done in terms of climate change and he hasn't delivered. Why not? Many will point to the above reasons I just mentioned. But the reality is that Biden was never really in love with the climate change movement from the start. Like most Democrat politicians, he's just using it as leverage, as a bargaining chip.

You help me get X and I'll push your bullsh*t climate change initiatives.

He's just paying lip-service to the climate change movement. A necessary check mark when you run as a Democrat. And best of all, he can blame the Republican Senate for the failure of climate change bills to pass.

Well…I did my best. Gotta keep moving.

And though he's getting up in age, Biden is moving with agility. His administration is dodging scandal after scandal. It's not every day that you can kill children in a drone strike and pretend nothing happened. Kudos to the New York Times for breaking that story. [16] While the NYT's opinion and news reporting is garbage, its investigative reporting is solid. I still yearn for a conservative media outlet to replicate that kind of investigative journalism. And yes, I did watch all of the Tucker Carlson Originals episodes.

And I found it...lacking...in depth.

If you want to do a Netflix-like doc, then do so. But don't do a puff piece doc with a few biased players. A clear ideological move. The NYT's investigative journalism into Biden's Afghan drone strike, the Harvey Weinstein story, or the FDA scandal was all non-partisan. In fact, it has the potential to damage the liberal/Democrat brand. But the NYT'still did it because their investigative unit is non-partisan. But everything else at the NYT is a complete failure. It’s weird, but that's the way the world is.

There are climate change activists telling people that they should no longer have children because the world is screwed. [17] [18] And then there are climate change activists living in mansions and have private jets saying that everyone should move toward a minimalist lifestyle. [19] [20] [21] [22] It's a crazy world, but it's the only one we've got so we have to make do with it.

If climate change activists were smart, they would have pushed harder for either Sanders or Warren to be the Democrat candidate in 2020 instead of Biden. But they got what they paid for. A man half in and half out of climate change who begs for more oil output, [23] [24] all while climate change activists cringe.

And they're cringing because Biden's call for more oil is contradictory to the climate change movement's goal of winding down oil and natural gas. The problem is that Biden lives in reality whereas climate change believers live in their own fantasy worlds. Biden lives in a reality where the price of goods depends on oil. Where oil and natural gas is still the lifeblood of America and the world.

But coal, oil and natural gas is not part of the reality for climate change activists. They live in a fairytale land where coal, oil and natural gas stop one day and wind, solar and water take over the next day. They live in a world where solar panels and wind power operate with 100% efficiency. They live in a world where gas stations no longer exist. They live in a world where everyone is vegan and buys Beyond Meat burgers (the low stock price is killing my investment. I'm going back to oil stocks). Climate change activists live in a world where their lawsuits have the power to change government policies. They live in a world where there's no such thing as a bridging technology like natural gas or nuclear power. It's just clear sailing in their minds once the switch happens.

In reality, the switch doesn't happen overnight. Nor will it happen in a few months or years. It would take decades to change the entire energy infrastructure of the planet. But the question of any rational person is the same. What is the source of this new energy and can it keep up with global demand? The answer that climate change activists give is the same.

Don't worry. There will be more than enough energy from wind, solar and water.

Uh...are you taking demand for the next decade into account?

Don't worry. It's all good.

And this is where Biden has an edge on climate change activists. He (and many German officials) know that they can't exist without oil and natural gas. Whole economies in Germany will collapse without oil and natural gas. [25] This is why Germany is still buying Russian natural gas. [26] You think that the baby formula shortage around the world is bad? Try an oil shortage where your population either dies or kills you for incompetence.

And this cold splash of reality has caused the climate change movement to recoil into itself, even to the point of self-immolation. [27]

I'm so depressed about climate change.

Politicians aren't listening to us. I feel suicidal.

Nothing we do is making a difference.

And while these are depressing statements. It's good to feel what reality tastes like. Only then can you make a real plan to move forward. Even though I don't believe that man-made climate change will lead to end of the world, I encourage all people to be genuine in their beliefs.

The Biden administration is now caught in a mess of Russian power, high inflation and US domestic energy policies. Biden wants to increase the global output of oil. But since that's not going as planned, he's asked domestic oil companies to step up. But US companies are weary, especially since Biden cancelled the Keystone pipeline to keep the climate change movement in check.

US producers don't want to gear up for high output only to be stamped down later by the Biden administration in the future. It was the same problem with Trump. He told them to re-start their coal mines and they refused because they expected the next administration to change the policy. Energy policies that change from one administration to another prevents a real energy/climate change strategy from being implemented (on both sides of the aisle).

And with China and India pushing into high gear in the future, carbon emissions will never come down. It doesn't matter if the US isn't the one producing it. It all stays inside the planet. And it's better to side with American and Canadian manufacturers than Chinese or Indian ones because of the stronger regulations. Mining oil or gas under Mexican law is very different under US law. And generally speaking, Western-European countries have come a long way from the air pollution of the '50s-'60s.

And just to be clear, I'm against real pollutants in the air, not carbon dioxide/carbon emission. That's not a real pollutant (regardless of what the Supreme Court says). Maybe the court can overturn that one along with Roe v. Wade. Maybe slip it in just like the Democrats and Republicans do with congressional spending bills.

And for Biden's Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg to suggest buying an electric car to deal with the price shock for gas, [28] is tone-deaf. Of course, if the US government plans to buy $50,000.00 electric cars for every American, or if Buttigieg plans to pay for it personally, it sounds great for you guys (I'm Canadian).

But throw in the cost of electricity charging and insurance, and it's almost the same costs as a regular gas car. You can't even say that you save on maintenance because gas cars last much longer than electric cars. There are gas cars with over a million miles on it. For electric cars, you can only push to 100,000-200,000 miles. And all those heavy batteries are more or less junk after they're retired. Yes, they can be used for electric boats. But that boat battery won’t be powering a home with two parents and three kids or a business.

It would be great if there was a magical box that gave people unlimited energy to power a house or business. But even with the promise of new kinds of nuclear technology, that’s just wishful fairytale thinking.

Or maybe things will really shift into the World Economic Forum's favor in the future.

You'll own nothing. And you'll be happy. [29]

While you might think that's a conspiracy theory, that line (text) came from Danish politician Ida Auken on behalf of a World Economic Forum PR video. Not exactly the best avenue for human empowerment.

Like you, I want to live in a world without toxic pollutants in the air. I want to live in a world without microplastics in the water and the air. I want to live in a world without going into crushing debt. I want to live in a world where people believe in eternal love that goes beyond physical reality. Yes, this is all fairytale thinking. But if the climate change movement is going to push fairytales on me. I'm going to push back with my own fairytales. And maybe one of us will get our wish fulfilled.

Or maybe...it'll be like Game of Thrones where everyone gets f*cked (and not in a nice way).

References:

[1] Collinson, Stephen. Biden's botched Afghan exit is a disaster at home and abroad long in the making. CNN. August 16, 2021.

[2] Biden defends 'messy' US pull-out from Afghanistan. BBC News. August 17, 2021.

[3] Prokop, Andrew. How much legal jeopardy is Hunter Biden in? Vox. April 11, 2022.

[4] Desiderio, Andrew and Beavers, Olivia. 'All over Hunter Biden': Republicans lay plans for their own investigation, despite the DOJ probe. Politico. April 6, 2022.

[5] Wulfsohn, Joseph. Hunter Biden saga: Washington Post authenticates laptop after dismissing 'fake' scandal in 2020. Fox News. March 30, 2022.

[6] Reilly, Patrick. Biden sued for 'colluding' with Big Tech to suppress free speech on Hunter laptop, COVID: report. New York Post. May 5, 2022.

[7] Michael S. Schmidt and Vogel, Kenneth P. For Financial Help and Counsel, Hunter Biden Turns to Hollywood Lawyer. New York Times. May 10, 2022.

[8] Patteson, Callie. Parents take a stand against FBI crackdown on CRT opponents. New York Post. October 5, 2021.

[9] Kornick, Lindsay. AP's fact check falsely claims NSBA never requested protesting parents to be labeled as 'domestic terrorists.' Fox News. October 6, 2021.

[10] Adams, Char, et al. Map: See which states have passed critical race theory bills. NBC News. June 17, 2021.

[11] Hamby, Chris, et al. McKinsey Opened a Door in Its Firewall Between Pharma Clients and Regulators. New York Times. April 13, 2022.

[12] Belluck, Pam, et al. How an Unproven Alzheimer's Drug Got Approved. New York Times. July 19, 2021.

[13] FDA restricts Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine due to blood clot risk. Associated Press. May 6, 2022.

[14] Texas judge blocks Biden's federal worker vaccine mandate. Associated Press. January 21, 2022.

[15] Korecki, Natasha. Biden's handling of immigration gets low marks in his own pollster's survey. NBC News. February 27, 2022.

[16] Schmitt, Eric and Cooper, Helene. Pentagon acknowledges Aug. 29 drone strike in Afghanistan was a tragic mistake that killed 10 civilians. New York Times. September 17, 2021.

[17] Green, Emma. A World Without Children. Atlantic. September 20, 2021.

[18] Hunt, Elle. BirthStrikers: meet the women who refuse to have children until climate change ends. Guardian. March 12, 2019.

[19] Roberts, David. Rich climate activist Leonardo DiCaprio lives a carbon-intensive lifestyle, and that's (mostly) fine. Vox. March 2, 2016.

[20] Ratcliffe, Rebecca. Record private jet flights into Davos as leaders arrive for climate talk. Guardian. January 22, 2019.

[21] Wright, Loveday. Can a minimalist mindset help save the planet? DW. June 1, 2020.

[22] Saxton, Marie. Downsizing to a tiny home reduces your ecological footprint by 45%. World Economic Forum. August 9, 2019.

[23] Kalmus, Peter. Why is Biden boasting about drilling for oil? Our planet demands we stop now. Guardian. March 31, 2022.

[24] Liptak, Kevin, et al. Biden turns to countries he once sought to avoid to find help shutting off Russia's oil money. CNN. March 8, 2022.

[25] Winck, Ben. Decades of leaning on Russia forces Germany into a perilous decision: continue to buy Russian oil or risk economic catastrophe. Business Insider. April 17, 2022.

[26] Rosen, Phil. German utility giant Uniper still plans to buy Russian gas under a euros-to-rubles scheme, but says it wouldn't be breaching sanctions. Business Insider. May 11, 2022.

[27] Kang, Jay Caspian. Witness to a Fire. New York Times. April 28, 2022.

[28] Patteson, Callie. Buttigieg slammed for urging electric car buying to counter gas prices. New York Post. November 29, 2021.

[29] Fact check: The World Economic Forum does not have a stated goal to have people own nothing by 2030. Reuters. February 25, 2021.