Critics of the previous administration were never shy about lobbing accusations involving “Big Oil.” Donald Trump was their puppet, according to the narrative.
Yet, nearly two years after he left office, the news headlines are dominated by the energy crisis.
High costs. Persistent shortages. OPEC muscle flexing. Russian invasions. [bold, links added]
You would be forgiven for thinking America and the world were doing much better when there was an “American Energy First” proponent in the Oval Office.
The latest warning sign is the diesel shortage. If you think you are immune, you’re mistaken. Exacerbating this major national security and economic crisis is the general cluelessness of the Biden administration. Unaware of its seriousness, ignorant of its root causes, and unwilling to reverse it.
The national economy is a diesel-driven economy. A generation ago people bought diesel cars because diesel was cheaper than regular gas, but that has changed. Why? A generation ago goods were made in American factories.
Now, thanks to globalist trade policies which have greatly favored outsourcing and moved factories to other nations, goods are made in Mexico and loaded on diesel trucks and diesel rail cars.
Or they are made in China and sent across the Pacific Ocean on diesel tankers, which require hundreds of thousands of gallons.
The need for diesel is a result of our economic policies.
Ironic that the Biden administration is incentivizing electric vehicles with the goal of using less gas. Yet, here again, policies are pro-diesel.
The metals, minerals, and rare earth elements required for an EV are mined using diesel machines.
So fossil fuel heavy is EV production that a 2019 German Study determined they produce more CO2 than conventional combustion engines and have no carbon offsetting value.
Why do we pursue it? Why does the Biden administration push electric vehicles (EV) to “stop using gas” when in reality it means “use more diesel”? This policy is insanity.
Team Biden is watching this happen in real-time and hoping it resolves itself, but it will not. Government actions have market consequences. A serious government would acknowledge the situation.
Even a child with no business or economic experience who opens a lemon stand for the very first time intrinsically, and innately understands the need for lemons.
Nonetheless, here is a Biden administration saying we want EVs, we want wind and solar manufactured in China and shipped on tankers, all of which require a greater need for diesel, and instead we are doing the opposite.
The amount of diesel produced from a barrel of crude is fixed. The Biden team has asked refiners to produce more as if you can squeeze any more juice from a lemon.
To get more juice you need more lemons, a greater supply, but supply is under attack by this administration.
We have the fewest oil and gas permits since World War II. Biden has proudly and prominently canceled permits from the Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, Alaska, and federal lands.
Our supply is dwindling. The logical consequence is that the refined diesel product is dwindling.
As a result, diesel is in short supply and expensive. Today, diesel averages $5.30 a gallon. Last year, diesel averaged $3.22 a gallon. That’s an increase of 66%.
If you consider what diesel powers (trucks, trains, tankers, farm equipment) you quickly realize all those costs will be passed onto consumers.
All this was foreseeable and preventable, but it was very deliberate. The green agenda — the EV, wind, and solar agenda demand economic destruction because it demands fossil fuel destruction.
The leaders of this movement are just getting started.
Just the other day John Kerry, the White House Climate Czar, called for the United States to spend trillions on the worldwide green agenda. Trillions! Such stupidity should get Mr. Kerry laughed out of the country.
The fossil fuel industry needs government cooperation to operate. As we saw in the previous administration when the government cooperates and lets us do our job, we do great things.
We can remember low costs, low inflation, and less worldwide saber rattling. It was 2019. America can return to that, but only if the government does its part.
Under the Biden administration, that seems impossible.
Read more at Daily Caller
When oil was first refined it was primarily for kerosene to replace whale oil for home lighting. This was followed by heating oil and somewhat diesel. Gasoline was a wasted byproduct that had to be disposed of. It wasn’t until Henry Ford’s production line dropped the price of autos enough to allow the middle class to purchase them that gasoline finally found its home. Now the Biden administration and the Greens want to make that byproduct useless again because the other uses, especially diesel and the oil used in ship, will still be there unless they really want to totally shut down all commerce except local trading. We’d be back to living the short brutish lives in the Middle Ages.
Not long ago, Europe shipped gasoline to America. Diesel cars were popular in Europe, so their refineries had to move gasoline like it was a byproduct. Now, because of global upheaval from the Wuhan virus and Russian belligerence, Europe is buying any kind of fuel it can. It’s true that the Democrats have been giving oil companies the gears, the current issue is that refineries can’t keep up with global demand. The green new dealers discourage any investment in the oil business. Who would spend billion$ on a new refinery in this situation?
In fact, the Democrats want banks to stop investing in or brokering any deals involving oil and gas. This attack on the money supply to a major industry does more targeted harm on the entire economy than anything.
Biden don’t really think he just opens his Piehole and blabbers out a lot of total poppycock
Biden says he believes in a free market economy and equally clearly believes it will right itself.
He fails to recognize that over-regulation has destroyed any chance of a free market response.
Under his administrations’ rules (including actual behavior, virtue signaling and posturing) the supply market simply cannot and will not respond.
The demand side will continue to ramp up prices to insane levels if this lunacy is not reversed – and quickly.
Unfortunately, turning on production takes time and money.
But then show me investors who are willing to invest in any long term project that the administration is on record as wanting to kill off such industries as soon as possible – by any and all means (denial of permits, finance, overweening regulations etc.etc.)
Even if they reversed the legislation tomorrow, investors will be leery of investing in any project that might be reversed by the political whims of the next grand panjandrum (or his wife).
Disaster looms.
Free market economy, but then Biden is talking about outlawing export of products. Some refineries can’t make U.S. spec diesel but can supply foreign markets. If this volume is shutdown, the global market will be even shorter, exasperating the issue.
Actually, I think several of the industry trade groups have written letters to the Biden Administration to offer constructive approaches (potential solutions) to the current domestic SUPPLY shortages. My understanding is the list includes 1.) Suspend the Jones Act 2.) Suspend the ethanol requirements for refiners 3.) Relax national gasoline blending requirements as a START. All this is geared at refining and more immediately attempting to “de-bottleneck” output. Meanwhile, the Administration threatens that if industry does not increase output, a “windfall profits” tax and suspension of oil exports will be imposed which will ONLY further cut supply. I honestly don’t think ANYONE in the WH has even minimal knowledge of how our domestic energy system actually functions. Next Tuesday can’t come fast enough…
Do we really think that this was simply the result of being stupid or ignorant?
Would the socialists like to bankrupt Big Oil, then take it over and use energy as a cash cow? Yes. They’re a long way from pulling it off.
Interestingly, there are some Democrats that are proposing to “nationalize” the U.S oil & gas industry. Refer to Venezuela for probable outcomes…
Biden like just about all liberal Democrats bases everything on Politics and Junk Science which was the bases for Gore and his fake documentaries and books Earth in the Balance(With his thumb on the scale)and Assault on Reason needs to have his prizes revoked
Just temporarily ease up the IMO 2020 sulfur standard on shipping bunker oil. Diesel is blended into this to make spec.
Biden could also temporarily put the Jones’ Act on hold, so that Gulf coast refineries can use foreign flagged ships to haul product to NYC or other destinations that are short. These Jones’ Act ships (U.S. flagged, with U.S. citizen sailors) are a barrier to free commerce in the U.S.
Some screwball want Obama to Suspend the U.S. Constitution over this Global warming/Climate Change scam
Magical thinking is a key tenet of Democrat ideology.
Let’s think of the impact for us common people. In theory the lack of diesel could lead shortages in the stores because deliveries would be reduced. From what I have read the most likely consequent is higher prices to cover the use of the more expensive fuel for transport. However, it is a good idea to be prepared. This can be simple. Before COVID my family would shop based on replacing what we had used the previous week. Now we shop based on what we have room for in our cupboards. This has extended our supply of food to several weeks.