Protection of the Planet but not You

The Supreme Court dealt a brutal blow to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in one of its last rulings of this judicial cycle, West Virginia v. EPA. In a 6-3 decision, the Court ruled that the EPA cannot force power plants that currently use coal or natural gas to transition to renewable sources of energy.

The ruling, authored primarily by Chief Justice John Roberts, basically lays out the case that a governmental agency like the EPA with unelected bureaucrats cannot unilaterally create policies and regulations that have the possibility of costing billions of dollars in compliances costs, higher energy prices, and countless lost jobs. Roberts argued that, “A decision of such magnitude and consequence rests with Congress itself, or an agency acting pursuant to a clear delegation from that representative body.” In other words, governmental agencies cannot legislate. That power rests solely with the elected representatives of the American people in Congress.

In spite of this ruling, green activists continue to advocate for programs of ‘great magnitude’ including net zero. The unrealistic goal of no fossil fuel emissions is creating a chain of events that have far reaching and catastrophic consequences. To begin with, the green lobby is not populated with serious and thoughtful people.  They live in some dream world whereby magically, through political discourse alone, all the infrastructure and technology needed for solar, wind and battery powered energy will suddenly be available and work properly and seamlessly. In the real world, transitioning from fossil fuels to alternate forms of energy is a complex and logistical nightmare that would take decades upon decades of planning and preparation to fully accomplish.

According to USA Today, only 13% of the energy in the U.S. is currently wind or solar and is growing at a paltry rate of 4% per year. The Pew Research Center debates this claim saying that since 2018 only 4% of all energy is created by sustainable sources. If we do the math and generously use the 13% figure, the remaining 87% of traditional energy transitioned to alternate means (assuming that the rate of growth remains constant) would take almost 22 years. This is also assuming that these forms of energy could even handle the aggregate demand. You may recall the 2021 ice storm in Texas that left 70,000 residents without electricity and heat due to frozen wind turbines.

We also now see the Biden Administration saying the quiet part out loud. High gas prices are intentionally designed to be an, “incredible transition” from fossil fuels. So here is my question for all the green activists out there – how far are you willing to go in order to achieve your dream of net zero carbon emissions? Before you answer, please consider the following:

• Gasoline is at an all-time high. The average price is around $5.00 per gallon with some states like California closing in on $6.00 per gallon. This 60% increase is taking a huge bite out of everyone’s monthly budget. Necessities like food, healthcare and rent payments may be severely compromised due to this increase.
• Diesel fuel is also more expensive than it was two years ago, meaning that the price of everything else is on the rise as well. Bloomerberg reports that U.S. households will pay $5,200 more this year due to the increase. Most people will not be able to keep pace with this inflationary situation and may find themselves falling deeper and deeper in debt.
• Senator Steve Daines from Montana estimated that shutting down the Keystone pipeline destroyed 11,000 good paying jobs and $800 million in wages. Energy Secretary, Jennifer Granholm, is required by law to disclose the actual number of jobs lost when the pipeline was shut down but she refused to do so. So much for transparency.
• Fertilizer is created by using the hydrogen found in natural gas. The current pressure from the Biden administration to reduce the natural gas we extract from places like Texas and Pennsylvania coupled with the conflict between Russian and Ukraine has left the world in short supply of fertilizer. This could easily cause a world-wide famine especially targeting the world’s poorest populations living in rural areas.
• China, a brutal Communist country, currently makes 79% of the world’s electric batteries for cars. Four of the largest battery manufacturing facilities are also found in China. This represents a huge national security issue for the U.S. Supply chains could be cut off at any time causing an enormous transportation crisis if electric vehicles are universally adopted.
• The true carbon footprint for an electric vehicle depends on how the electricity for recharging is supplied. In many places, coal is still being burned to create reliable electricity. The rare earth minerals used in lithium batteries scar the surface of the earth when they are being mined and there are not enough facilities needed to recycle the dead batteries once electric vehicles are no longer usable. Improper disposal of these batteries could create huge toxic dumps.