President Trump’s and Secretary Perry’s aim for “global ‘energy dominance”
America’s becoming a world energy leader – even as it leads in the fight against climate change
Forget all the whining over President Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris Accord and claims America isn’t doing its share on warming. Truth is, this nation’s role as a leader in the war on climate-change continues to grow.
Even better, as Energy Secretary Rick Perry noted last week, America is also emerging as a top energy producer: “American innovation and technology is driving the success — and it’s not some international agreement,” he said.
Fact is, the nation is cutting carbon emissions, making advances on clean-energy production and leading the world in renewables. Between 2000 and 2014, per-capita US emissions plunged nearly 20 percent — from 5.4 metric tons to 4.4.
All this amid rising emissions in the rest of world, notes Fatih Birol, of the International Energy Agency. America is also the “second-largest market for solar globally.”
Meanwhile, Team Trump has adopted an “all-of-the-above” approach to energy production, backing oil, gas, coal, nuclear, renewables, fracking — heck, probably hamsters on wheels if they could gin up enough juice.
The goal, says Perry, echoing Trump’s remarks last month, is global “energy dominance.” He cites exports of liquid natural gas, Atlantic and Arctic Ocean oil and coal as particularly promising.
Indeed, America has already seen jumps in coal exports to Europe, India and South Korea. And after decades of importing natural gas, the US is now set to become a net exporter of gas, possibly this year. For that, thank the fracking boom that’s enriching states like Pennsylvania and Texas. (New York also has natural gas, but to please enviros, Gov. Cuomo banned fracking.)
The good news for America doesn’t end there: US energy exports are reducing world dependence on oil and gas from bad actors — notably, Russia and Middle East OPEC countries. Ukraine, for example, may soon use US coal to make up for Russia’s cuts in the natural gas it supplies.
Of course, the greenies oppose all fossil-fuel use, and never mind the economic and political fallout from scrapping it.
But here’s the bottom line: The climate-change gains here far eclipse those elsewhere, even as the nation’s energy independence grows. So forget greenie whining; Americans can rejoice over some truly encouraging energy news.
