May 24th, 2024

• Stay up to date on all things energy by visiting the TEA Newsroom.
• Natural Gas CARES: It provides Clean, Affordable, Reliable Energy Security.
• BLM proposals would end coal leasing in the Powder River Basin.
• Biden’s pollution crackdown poses an obstacle to the natural gas industry.
• Major banks tried to assess their climate risk. They struggled.
• Could Pennsylvania’s fracking wastewater hold the key to the country’s energy transition?
• A majority of Americans want natural gas.
• Conservative group partners with gas stations to highlight ‘Biden’s war on American energy.’
• Biden to release 1 million barrels of gas to reduce prices at the pump.
• $50 million ‘environmental justice’ grant to anti-Israel group under scrutiny.

The issue: This opinion piece by The Heritage Foundation, titled ‘Even With New EV Tariffs, Biden’s Climate Agenda Benefits China’ is spot on.

Why it Matters: To date, President Biden’s plan to build “America’s clean energy future” has resulted in expensive gas, problematic regulations, and arbitrary environmental standards.

His tariffs on Chinese imports could hurt his climate agenda as well as his political chances in “industrial heartland states,” such as Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, according to Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio).

Consider:

• Biden’s plan to build “America’s clean energy future” has benefitted the Chinese Communist Party, while harming U.S. prosperity and national security.
• Almost every ambitious target adopted by climate change activists would require mass adoption of heavily subsidized Chinese “green” technologies and equipment.
• The CCP has consistently taken advantage of America’s climate agenda to advance its narrow interests, putting U.S. national and energy security at grave risk.

Two examples are noted in this piece.

The first is solar panels. China’s anticompetitive practices mean American solar panel producers cannot compete with cheap Chinese solar panels subsidized by the CCP and often built using slave labor. Today China accounts for 75 percent of all solar panels produced globally, leaving only 16 companies building solar panels in America.

Second, China is the world’s largest producer and processor of rare earth elements, which are essential for green energy products and technologies, such as the lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles.

Biden is making America’s automobile industry heavily dependent on China, risking U.S. jobs in the process.

The CCP has consistently taken advantage of America’s climate agenda to advance its own narrow interests, putting U.S. national and energy security at grave risk. Going forward, the U.S. must put an end to China’s manipulation of the climate agenda and put American industry and its consumers first.

Bottom Line: Even with the new tariffs, Biden’s green agenda benefits China’s economy more than America’s. That’s a tough sell to the blue collar workers the President needs to win over in battleground states.

The issue: Electric cars are driven the least while costing the most. This highlights the absurdity of the left’s obsession with EVs. It also is worth noting this study as we approach the Memorial Day holiday and upcoming summer vacations for many American families.

Why it Matters: Most Americans who drive to commute to work, take their kids to Little League or travel ball games or dance lessons, want an affordable, reliable internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle and not an overpriced, unreliable EV.

iSeeCars analyzed the odometer readings from over 1.3 million 3-year-old used cars sold from November 2022 to April 2023, and also compared these mileage numbers by model to the list prices of the same models when they were sold new.

Consider:

• The limited use of EVs, combined with their higher list price, results in a 63.6 percent higher cost per 1,000 miles driven annually compared to gasoline cars. Plug-in hybrid vehicles cost 39.4 percent more than gasoline models, while standard hybrids actually cost 2.1 percent less than gasoline cars.
• While electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids are among the most expensive vehicles on a cost-per-mile basis, high-performance sports cars still outrank them – even with a traditional gasoline drivetrain.
• There are plenty of other reasons why EVs aren’t that desirable, from range anxiety to charging station availability.

Perhaps the biggest of all is the zero-emissions lie. There is no such thing as a zero-emissions vehicle. Most annoying is the cult-like following displayed by green extremists, along with ultra-rich, smug owners and celebrities.

Bottom Line: A common argument for EVs is that you’ll save money by not having to fill up a gas tank. The numbers tell a different story – when looking at purchase price and average miles driven per year, EVs are the most expensive to drive.

Ahead of one of the busiest travel weekends of the year, gas prices remain in neutral. The national average for a gallon of gasoline inched up only 1 cent this week, now sitting at $3.60 nationwide. That’s 4 cents higher than the national average last Memorial Day weekend. The good news is, American motorists can expect gas prices to fall between now and labor day, according to gas expert Patrick De Haan.

Nothing on the calendar for next week, have a safe and enjoyable Memorial Day Weekend!

“Every time U.S. energy policy increases the cost of American manufacturing, we drive business over to coal-burning China. If POTUS was actually enviro friendly, he would create policies that bolster U.S. natural gas, which has accounted for major decreases in U.S. emissions.”
— Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) on Twitter/X.