This week, as the Russian invasion of Ukraine dragged on, gas prices in America soared to their highest levels since 2008, increasing over 57 cents in just one month. In parts of the United States, gas at the pump costs in excess of $7 per gallon.
The answer to this challenge is obvious: The United States ought to open the drilling floodgates. In 2019, net imports of crude oil and finished products were exceeded by American exports of such products for the first time on record. That was due to the massive increase in American production thanks to fracking over the course of the prior decade. This did not mean that the United States had stopped importing crude oil. But as of 2019, we were importing some 3.8 million barrels of crude oil per day, radically down from over 10 million in 2005. More production, generally speaking, means less dependence.
And that matters, as we're now seeing. Europe, which is far more dependent on foreign oil than the United States, has seen its energy prices skyrocket since the Russian invasion. That's why Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced, "Europe has deliberately exempted energy supplies from Russia from sanctions. Supplying Europe with energy for heat generation, mobility, electricity supply and industry cannot be secured in any other way at the moment." U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson agreed: "I think there are different dependencies in different countries, and we have to be mindful of that."
So now would be an excellent time for the United States to grab muscular leadership of the world energy markets. Instead, the Biden administration -- which opted upon taking office to undercut the oil and gas industry and radically subsidize inefficient "green energy" production -- has decided to seek energy aid from some of the world's worst dictatorships. This week, the Biden administration sent emissaries to the Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro in an attempt to increase oil imports from the socialist hellhole. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said, "The purpose of the trip that was taken by administration officials was to discuss a range of issues, including certainly energy security."
Meanwhile, Juan Guaido, leader of the Venezuelan opposition, was left out in the cold. "It is foolish to think that Maduro will quit Russia," he quite logically explained. "This is a mistake. To buy oil from Maduro is the same as buying oil from Putin."
But this is the point: For the international Left, dependency on oil-driven authoritarian states is (SET ITAL) preferable (END ITAL) to energy independence. It allows Left-wing leaders the privilege of appeasing their environmentalist base while at the same time keeping energy prices low. Carbon-based emissions are too hideous to be considered so long as they're being produced on American or European soil -- but we're perfectly willing to subsidize Russian President Vladimir Putin, Maduro and the Iranian ayatollahs to exploit the environment and enrich themselves while promoting tyranny at home and abroad, so long as Greta Thunberg isn't disappointed in us.
And so we continue to promote the abject idiocy of Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, who recommended to those suffering from high gas prices that they just shell out for an electric vehicle. We continue to nod along to the stupidity of Psaki, who agreed that the solution to $7-a-gallon gas was "getting the whole country off of fossil fuels." Then we import our energy from the world's worst despots.
Opposition to oil and gas development has always been the privilege of rich countries; we simply outsourced the pollution and environmental degradation elsewhere. But as it turns out, in the end, we all pay the price for our willingness to pay off autocrats just so we can temporarily pretend that we did our bit for Greenpeace.
Ben Shapiro, 38, is a graduate of UCLA and Harvard Law School, host of "The Ben Shapiro Show," and editor-in-chief of DailyWire.com. He is the author of the New York Times bestsellers "How To Destroy America In Three Easy Steps," "The Right Side Of History," and "Bullies." To find out more about Ben Shapiro and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.
COPYRIGHT 2022 CREATORS
38 comments:
Come on man. You heard Joe from his own mouth before the steal that he would make this happen then DJT said this would happen if Joe got in. THEN just yesterday ...Auntie Kam , Boodyjudge and Jen Jen told America to go buy a fugging electric car ! There is only one way to stop this insanity and it is very frowned upon. 2022/2024 will be to late. The damage is already done and this gas thing is the club meets baby seal !
While I believe this country will, someday, become dependent on EV's and Trucks, but it will not be soon or overnight. Our Electric infrastructure can barely at times take care of our needs, never mind loading it with charging massive numbers of golfcarts. I see very few EV chargers around town as it is. This Administration can't honestly believe that our country will/can change out in days versus years.
The Biden administration approved more new drilling in his first year than Trump. The issue with gas prices is those who set the prices. The oil companies lost big during the pandemic and are recouping their lost profits as quickly as possible. Unless little Ben is proposing we nationalize the oil companies, there isn’t much the government can do. We should have pushed for a quicker transition to renewable energies years ago so we wouldn’t be held hostage by Russia and the Middle East, but we’ve all known that and didn’t do a thing about it, so time to pay up.
@4:38 - you charge electric vehicles at your house. Unless you are on a road trip, you don’t need a charger outside your home. We can easily accommodate the additional electricity needed to charge more cars, that is not a concern.
Meanwhile - Just a tad north of 3% of our oil is from Russia.
@4:38
The intention is for even a private EV to eventually be as exclusive as owning a private jet is today. The plebs will have to pile into public transportation to get around. If you research the WEF 2030 Net Zero Agenda, you would know that the plan is to herd the population into designated urban zones, surrounded by extremely compartmentalized and secured farmland. And the vast stretches of North America will be tranquil nature preserves. They don’t want us to have freedom of movement at all. They can’t have Net Zero if we all own EVs and take road trips.
You don’t have to go to any crazy conspiracy theory websites. Just look for the World Economic Forum Net Zero Carbon Emissions roadmap.
You actually believed that. Oil companies didn't produce as much because during the pandemic, demand plummeted. Less demand, less production. Economy had a huge dead cat bounce during Biden's first year which translated into much higher demand but a great deal of production had been shut down.
Biden admin still shut down new leases in the Gulf and then there is the crap it pulled last week of leases on federal land.
Anyone who believed Biden’s lies are numb on both ends. He stated during his stay in his hideout basement that he was going to destroy the oil industry because in his words it was dirty. But somehow 80 million morons didn’t believe him! So how do you like him now you dipshits! The guys only been in office 13 months and inflation is higher than it’s been in forty years, food prices are sky high and he’s managed to show his incompetence on the world stage by showing the dictator in Russia he he’s as smooth as a Ken doll where his balls should be. You clowns who voted for this idiot better hope he doesn’t start WW3 with his weakness.
This is the best illustration of the future shaped by the ultra progressive academics who cannot see past their own privileged lifestyles to understand the basic reality of the working class. Their attitude is "Let them eat cake" when the masses face the stark realities of living on working class wages while being saddled with their unrealistic idealism. The sad part is that the poor and downtrodden they say they love so much will suffer the most.
Haven’t seen too many of these Go Green Nazi’s and their Overlords switching to green energy to set an example, but they love to preach. They don’t honestly research this stuff they just spew and regurgitate what they’re told to believe, while their masters burn that fossil fuel, getting rich off the simpletons.
@kimgfish - so you actually believe that if we allow more drilling in the gulf and on federal land, the gas prices will decline back to where they were prior to the pandemic? We are ramping up oil production under Biden in spite of what he says about clean energy.
Don't confuse permits for leases as Washington ____ did.
See definitions of dead cat bounce and futures.
@5:00
@5:03
Sooo
1st day executive order stopping 850k barrels a day from a pipeline, cancelling new Gulf drilling leases, cancelling new leases in Alaska and administration and Dems saying they want to destroy oil and gas industry, yeah.. that has no effect.
Prices started going up the day after he was inserted into the White House…
Kammy says we need higher prices to push you into an EV
By the way, have you seen your home electric bill? Notice the fuel “adjustment” fee? More than usage but I’m sure ole dementia joe has it covered..
PS
Don’t forget the weaponing of the federal reserve to look at banks and their loan portfolios to pressure them to not loan to energy companies. Social credit scores not monetary policy, yeah that will work out just like it is right now
I suggest learning about Oil production, imports, and exports here. I prefer to see the data myself
https://www.eia.gov/
all i know is, everything was cheaper and more abundant under President MeanTweet.
@8:19 - gas prices started to rise June 2020. Biden was inaugurated January 2021. Try taking your dementia pills before making up crap.
@7:24
Therr is a big difference between “normalizing” after the lockdowns lifted, and skyrocketing to over $3.00 a gallon before the ink dries on the executive orders shutting down the Keystone XL and drilling.
Biden did this. The democrats want this. And even Elon Musk tweeted that the fool needs to unlock our petroleum energy potential because people are going to die! If our food security breaks down there will be civil unrest well beyond the BLM riots.
Fox reports there are 9,000 approved drilling permits issued that are not being used. Of the 37 million acres currently under lease, 60% are non-producing. The only thing holding back U.S. oil production in the oil companies. Lastly, the oil that would be transported by Keystone is being transported by other means. Now is the time to shift to unlimited U.S. renewable energy so Russia, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and others can not blackmail us. And maybe the oil companies should increase production on the leases they have. But that would raise supply and lower prices. Or they could just lower their prices and share the pain.
KF - you are viewed as rational voice or reason in the wilderness, and how you manager your blog - you're not 100% right all of the time, but more than anywhere found in the southeastern environs.
If ever you should justifiably be censuring posts here, it is clear there is a creeping mass of youngish minds who don't even understand their history, and socialism/communism's history. They sound absolutely ridiculous.
In my honest, humble opinion.
For the morons : IF TRUCKERS can't bring your food because fuel is 10 a gallon then many of you will begin to starve...then you will be raided for what food you have left and likely killed for it. Electric tech is still 50 years from barley good ! Wake up terds !
The Biden administration approved more new drilling in his first year than Trump.
Link?
You ain't seen food prices like the food prices you're going to see in a matter of months. Democratic Party losses in the mid-terms will be truly historic.
@5:40
Duhh
.gov is your problem.. “safe and effective” ring a bell? How about “weapons of mass destruction”?
So what part of gov do you work for?
https://charts.gasbuddy.com/ch.gaschart?Country=USA&Crude=f&Period=18&Areas=USA+Average%2c%2c&Unit=US+%24%2fG
@9:11 - here are a couple for your reading pleasure.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/12/06/biden-is-approving-more-oil-gas-drilling-permits-public-lands-than-trump-analysis-finds/
https://www.npr.org/2021/07/13/1015581092/biden-promised-to-end-new-drilling-on-federal-land-but-approvals-are-up
9:15 :The stupidity and inability to read the room among our elected is truly historic. I mean sheer numbers. Seems the only bright lights are Ron, Tulsi and the Mayor of Vicksburg. Lol.
Ben Shapiro pays a lunatic like Candace Owens to be part of his company.
Never has a President or administration had any control over gas prices ( which were already going up) except in time of war.
Now all you yahoos may be fine with enriching Putin, but most of us are NOT.
Most of us, thank God, can recognized self-centered liars and psychopaths who have zero ethics.
If you don't, odds are you are not very smart and pretty screwed up yourself. And, like Putin think muscle strength and weaponry make you a man. Like him, you'd run the first time the shooting started.
Playing weekend soldier or being one but never being tested in combat doesn't mean you wouldn't cower when the first rounds came at you.
@11:49
Candace Owen is a cutie so she gets a pass. Ben pays her handsomely to keep her from joining InfoWars because Alex Jones really wants her on his news team. She could ossibly even be his protégée. And Alex has a lot more money than Ben.
Hey,
All you .gov’s (too many to @ directly)
When this is your policy, you get what is happening..from Energy Economic chair for Biden;
“ “The only viable path to energy independence for the American economy is to reduce the energy intensity of our economy overall and ultimately to reduce it to zero and get us in a position to where we are no longer reliant on fossil fuels,” Deese said.
Ps
For the .gov’er posting links to Wpost and npr as a source… haaa haaa
just use peppermint commie as a source, same thing.
Let’s see you volunteer to reduce your “intensity” of your personal economy mr. .gov
Oil prices started to fall again yesterday. Good job Joe, you get all the credit and no Republican can deny your genius handling and ultimate control of global oil prices. Way to look out for the little guys with the big trucks on the right who I’m sure will still blame you for something.
Hey .gov’s, 7:07 etc
Your dose of reality here..
“ How Dems Helped Spike Gas Prices”
“Despite reassurances from the White House that it is doing nothing to discourage oil companies from opening new drill sites, President Joe Biden’s allies in Congress just months ago pressured oil executives to decrease outputs because of climate change, raising questions about the Democratic Party’s strategy to lower prices for consumers.”
I guess Your Npr, Wpost, .gov and Peppermint Pattie “sources” for your “data” left you with you short as usual..
“ In late October, for example, the House Oversight and Reform Committee called in the CEOs of Exxon, BP, Shell, and Chevron to explain what steps they are taking to produce less oil and gas, with Rep. Hank Johnson (D., Ga.) alleging that “the world can’t wait” any longer. At the time, gas prices were hovering around a 10-year high.
The hearing has gained new relevance as a global gas shortage has pushed prices to an all-time high. Prices are rising even more due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with no sign of falling after Biden’s announcement that the United States will no longer accept Russian oil imports. Those facts have left Democrats scrambling for a solution before the November midterms as Republicans demand that the White House encourage domestic oil drilling operations.
Meanwhile, the price of gas just keeps going up.”
@7:44 and 7:48 - you posted what I guess is a copy paste job from some unknown website and you are complaining about NPR and Washington Post sources being used? Get a clue dude, you are an idiot.
This quote proves you are wrong.
“Morons on the right have lower iq that rock”
“In late October, Swedish researchers thoroughly proved that right leaning American voters are far dumber than average human beings. In a study of all adult Republicans in the United States, they proved that not a single one was of average intelligence. Their findings are conclusive and undeniable.”
I'm so tired of the Keystone argument.
First of all, we didn't need Keystone then or now since we have the largest production and reserves in the world ( look it up!)
Secondly, in Canada, the pipe line (owned and operated by a developer) has leaked like a sieve there. Who'd pay for the clean up here? hmmm?
Keystone pipes " dirty oil". You might ought to find out how that differs.
Also, try to learn how oil prices are set.
The increases were taking advantage of inflation and delivery caused by a pandemic.
There was no reason that they should increase in the U.S.The oil you are pumping today has long been refined.
But, the oil industry world wide sure spends lots of money on PR and making sure they also control most of the gas stations in a country when possible.
Take us to 4 50 a gallon then level it 399 . Yey Joe !!!! Obama taught you well.
9:15 am, hey .gov (ment) employee..here ya go
"Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) in 2021 asked bank CEOs if they are “still financing new oil and gas production” to shame them into far-left compliance.
Ocasio-Cortez’s question centered around the Biden-supported International Energy Agency (IEA), which suggested the fossil fuel industry must be debanked.
“Just last week, the IEA announced that all new fossil fuel projects must be stopped immediately in order to meet the Paris goal of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Centigrade,” Ocasio-Cortez prefaced.
“So I just wanted to pose a couple of questions to kind of discern a little bit about the details of each of your firm’s commitments. So for each of you, if we could just kind of go down, yes or no — are each of your firms still financing new oil and gas production?” she asked.
But as Reuters reported, banks are reducing their “exposure” to the fossil fuel industry:
Switzerland’s second-biggest bank reduced its exposure to emissions it financed in the oil, gas and coal sector by 41% between 2020 and 2021, preliminary estimates in its sustainability report showed on Thursday, when it had some $2.6 billion in loans outstanding to such clients.
The report marks the first time the bank detailed its exposure to financing emissions from the fossil fuel sector, which it estimated at 21.9 tonnes of CO2 equivalent for 2021.
…
But investors and climate activists have repeatedly asked the bank to do more, with investors managing $2.4 trillion calling on Credit Suisse this week to take tougher climate action, including cutting its exposure to fossil fuel assets.
Despite Biden’s claims, American oil production is down drastically from 2019, the year before the pandemic. Oil production in 2022 is 12 million barrels or 8 percent less than in 2019. As a result, gas and diesel prices reached record highs Friday, impacting inflation and reducing the net wages of the American worker."
lol..'that rock'
I bet my ikea is better than your's
Yep, . Gov,
this has nothing to do with what’s going on..
https://mobile.twitter.com/CitizenFreePres/status/1502715391931518978?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1502715391931518978%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fcitizenfreepress.com%2Fbreaking%2Fi-guarantee-we-are-going-to-end-fossil-fuels%2F
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