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That energy chaos would have had much less of an impact if Biden had not discarded the energy independence we had a year ago. His decisions have made us weak a

That energy chaos would have had much less of an impact if Biden had not discarded the energy independence we had a year ago. His decisions have made us weak and vulnerable to despots like Putin.

FooBarBizBazz 5y ago
Fracking is still a thing. What has Biden changed, exactly? And supposing his plan to build more wind turbines and solar panels had gotten support (maybe it still will), how would that hurt US energy independence? It would displace demand for gas, right? -- the stuff Russia sells. I could understand what you're saying if he had, say, banned fracking before renewables were built up. Or if he'd abandoned a bunch of perfectly-good nuclear plants, like the Germans. But none of that is what happened. In fact, he's tapped the strategic reserve a bunch of times (and leaned on the Saudis, I think), to try to reduce oil prices. And is probably working with the Germans now on their plan to build LNG terminals, so tankers from the US can dock. So it isn't even like he's led some charge away from fossil fuels. What I see, is an administration set not on "going without" fossil fuels, but on "ensuring there are alternatives" to them. (Half the reason for which is that he wants to boost the economy with industrial policy aimed at that sector, kind of like how South Korea developed its heavy industry.) All of which would only increase America's negotiating power vs. a petrostate like Russia, no? There are things you can complain about -- maybe there was too much pork in the Green New Deal / Build Back Better bills. But "discarded energy independence" is not a description of any reality that I can see.
smt88 5y ago
Domestic oil production under Biden is quite a bit higher on average than it was under Trump[1]. A president can't "discard energy independence" unilaterally anyway, certainly not in less than 18 months. 1. https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=PET&s=MCRFPUS2&f=M https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=PET&s=M...

That energy chaos would have had much less of an impact if Biden had not discarded the energy independence we had a year ago. His decisions have made us weak and vulnerable to despots like Putin.

FooBarBizBazz 5y ago

Fracking is still a thing. What has Biden changed, exactly? And supposing his plan to build more wind turbines and solar panels had gotten support (maybe it still will), how would that hurt US energy independence? It would displace demand for gas, right? -- the stuff Russia sells. I could understand what you're saying if he had, say, banned fracking before renewables were built up. Or if he'd abandoned a bunch of perfectly-good nuclear plants, like the Germans. But none of that is what happened. In fact, he's tapped the strategic reserve a bunch of times (and leaned on the Saudis, I think), to try to reduce oil prices. And is probably working with the Germans now on their plan to build LNG terminals, so tankers from the US can dock. So it isn't even like he's led some charge away from fossil fuels. What I see, is an administration set not on "going without" fossil fuels, but on "ensuring there are alternatives" to them. (Half the reason for which is that he wants to boost the economy with industrial policy aimed at that sector, kind of like how South Korea developed its heavy industry.) All of which would only increase America's negotiating power vs. a petrostate like Russia, no? There are things you can complain about -- maybe there was too much pork in the Green New Deal / Build Back Better bills. But "discarded energy independence" is not a description of any reality that I can see.

smt88 5y ago

Domestic oil production under Biden is quite a bit higher on average than it was under Trump[1]. A president can't "discard energy independence" unilaterally anyway, certainly not in less than 18 months. 1. https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=PET&s=MCRFPUS2&f=M https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=PET&s=M...