April 14th, 2023

• American natural gas is the world’s cleanest, most affordable, and most reliable energy. America’s energy independence and national security depends on it.
• South Korea secures LNG carrier order worth $258M.
• A 55-mile natural gas pipeline will pass through nature areas in Michigan.
• The top 20 natural gas producing countries in the world.
• Less than half polled say they will buy an EV.
• CEO: The green transition won’t be perfect and we’ll need natural gas.

We have gotten used to out-of-touch, “woke” activism coming out of Hollywood’s movie studios. Most of it seems pretty harmless and it’s something most Americans just don’t have the time to take seriously. But on Good Friday, a movie was released, called “How To Blow Up A Pipeline,” that we feel compelled to address.

• The background: The movie is based on a 2021 book that uses a history of social justice movements to argue that property destruction should be considered a valid tactic in the pursuit of environmental justice. The film, set primarily in West Texas, revolves around a group of eight young people who decide to blow up an oil pipeline in two key locations.
• The plot is simple: Hollywood took a bunch of attractive young actors, made a movie that looks like an action-packed blockbuster and attempted to teach anyone who watches how to plan and commit an act of violence.
• The intent is clear: To glorify domestic eco-terrorism and radicalize young minds. It is grossly irresponsible and dangerous to promote violence as a justified method of climate activism.
• The responsibility: Extreme activist millionaires Jeff Bezos, Laurene Powell Jobs and others did not make this film. But it is undeniable that their ideology is the framework behind it – and they indirectly are responsible for its content and any resulting consequences.

The obvious target audience is Gen Z, which often gets its information from movies, TikTok and social media platforms. There, the lines often are blurred and entertainment and reality can become entangled.

Think this is just a harmless suspense film with no violent intent? Look no further than the book from which the movie stems. Its promotional material reads:

“In this lyrical manifesto, noted climate scholar (and saboteur of SUV tires and coal mines) Andreas Malm makes an impassioned call for the climate movement to escalate its tactics in the face of ecological collapse. We need, he argues, to force fossil fuel extraction to stop – with our actions, with our bodies, and by defusing and destroying its tools. We need, in short, to start blowing up some oil pipelines.”

Bottom Line: Promoting violence that demonizes energy pipelines is dangerous especially to the young and impressionable.  It is imperative for President Biden and Democrat leadership to strongly condemn  “How to Blow Up a Pipeline” movie and the people behind it. Genuine climate activists should be appalled and they too should denounce this movie.

President Biden is attempting to remake the U.S. auto industry with the toughest emissions limits ever.

On Tuesday, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed two sets of new rules limiting emissions for all vehicles, ranging from passenger cars to tractor-trailers.
The most aggressive of several options the EPA will consider could lead to 67 percent of all new passenger car and light-duty truck sales being electric by 2032, the agency said.

Auto workers unions and working Americans and families who depend on their cars should take notice. These actions, if implemented, would have a direct and adverse impact on you.

Today, EVs make up less than 8% of all vehicle sales, so that presents a gigantic leap in less than a decade.

• Under the most aggressive proposal, automakers would have to cut emissions for the passenger cars and pickups they sell in model year 2032 by more than half from 2026, the last model year governed under current rules.
• Several obvious issues arise: The fact that China controls the critical minerals needed for batteries is one factor.
• The availability of charging stations and affordable car models are others.

The transition automakers are pursuing requires building totally new factories, assembly lines and supply chains, a years-long process. A major re-engineering of one car model usually takes 3-5 years, and automakers could be overhauling dozens of them, said Larry Burns, a former GM executive and now industry technology adviser.

Finally, let’s not forget about subsidies, one of Biden’s and Congressional Democrats’ favorite carrots to dangle:

• At Biden’s encouragement, Congress used its climate and infrastructure spending bills of the past two years to boost EVs with more than $31 billion in subsidies.
• That includes tax credits for EV manufacturers, and separate tax credits to encourage consumers to buy the vehicles.
• About $7.5 billion of that money is earmarked for construction of EV charging stations

Bottom Line: Biden is interfering with the free market in the spirit of his green-at-any-cost agenda. His EV plan will increase our reliance on China, strain our grid, and make it harder for Americans to afford transportation.

Gas prices are steadily increasing as the fallout from the recent OPEC production cut continues to unfold. The national average jumped another cents this week, up from $3.58 to $3.66. Since March 29th, gas prices have risen each day, mainly due to the high cost of oil. “When the cost of crude oil crosses the $80 a barrel mark, that puts a lot of upward pressure on what we pay at the pump, and as long as oil costs remain at the current level, drivers will likely see incremental price increases for now” explains AAA spokesperson Andrew Gross.

Hearing On Nuclear Energy Expansion: On Tuesday, April 18, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy, Climate and Grid Security will have a hearing on “American Nuclear Energy Expansion: Powering a Clean and Secure Future.”

Hearing On Waste And Fraud At DOE: On Tuesday, April 18, the House Oversight and Accountability Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Energy Policy, and Regulatory Affairs will have a hearing on “Spending on Empty: How the Biden Administration’s Unprecedented Spending Increased Risk of Waste, Fraud, and Abuse at the Department of Energy.”

Hearing On “Cleaner Vehicles”: On Tuesday, April 18, the Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Safety will have a hearing to “examine cleaner vehicles, focusing on consumers and public health.”

Hearing On Interior Budget: On Wednesday, April 19, the House Natural Resources Committee will have a hearing to examine the President’s FY 2024 Budget Request for the Department of the Interior.

FERC Open Meeting: On Thursday, April 20, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission will hold an open meeting of the Commission.

“If we replaced Russian natural gas in Europe with American natural gas, for one year, we would dramatically lower global CO2 emissions. American energy gives us the power to protect our environment and make the world safer from our adversaries. Let’s unleash our full potential.”

– Speaker Kevin McCarthy, via Twitter.