If there’s one silver lining to the military conflict between Ukraine and Russia – at least for the left – it’s that they can exploit it to push their Green New Deal agenda. Indeed, ever since the crisis started, high-profile Democrats and their close friends and allies in the activist media have been wagging their fingers at the western world for being dependent on Russian President Vladimir Putin for their energy. Their ultimate solution? Abandon fossil fuels and go green ASAP. That’ll show the balding dictator, won’t it?
White House press secretary Jen Psaki took to Twitter to explain why the U.S. and Europe must move to green energy to take leverage away from the Kremlin. In a lengthy thread, she wrote:
When it comes to U.S. energy production – and how we achieve energy security – it’s important to look at the facts. So here are 9 specifics..
When it comes to U.S. energy production – and how we achieve energy security – it’s important to look at the facts. So here are 9 specifics..
— Jen Psaki (@PressSec) March 6, 2022
In a subsequent tweet, Psaki explained:
The only way to protect US over the long term is to become energy independent. That is why the President is so focused on deploying clean energy technologies that don’t require fossil fuels bought and sold on the global market, which will always be vulnerable to bad actors.
8. The only way to protect US over the long term is to become energy independent. That is why the President is so focused on deploying clean energy technologies that don’t require fossil fuels bought and sold on the global market, which will always be vulnerable to bad actors.
— Jen Psaki (@PressSec) March 6, 2022
Not to be outdone, Sen. Elizabeth “Fauxcahontas” Warren pulled up her smoke signals app to translate her message explaining why the only option is for America and European nations to stop Putin by pulling away from fossil fuels:
Russia’s whole economy depends on oil and gas exports. So the more the world relies on fossil fuels, the more power we put in the hands of Putin.
We need more clean energy for the sake of our planet and for the sake of democracy and freedom around the globe.
Russia's whole economy depends on oil and gas exports. So the more the world relies on fossil fuels, the more power we put in the hands of Putin.
We need more clean energy for the sake of our planet and for the sake of democracy and freedom around the globe.
— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) March 5, 2022
Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) also chimed in, echoing his comrades’ sentiments:
I’m proposing that the United States stop buying Russian oil and gas and inadvertently funding the illegal war in Ukraine. We do not need Putin’s dirty fossil fuels. What we absolutely need is to supercharge the clean energy revolution in America.
I'm proposing that the United States stop buying Russian oil and gas and inadvertently funding the illegal war in Ukraine. We do not need Putin's dirty fossil fuels. What we absolutely need is to supercharge the clean energy revolution in America.https://t.co/pj5rebMwLb
— Ed Markey (@EdMarkey) March 4, 2022
This all sounds nice and wonderful if one chooses not to use their little grey cells to identify the plan’s obvious flaw. The problem with this particular proposal is that if 100% of Americans were on board with this idea and got to work on it immediately, it would still take decades upon decades to transition to green energy in a way that would make the western world independent on Russia for oil. The Washington Examiner’s David Freddoso agrees. He wrote:
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., is only the latest Democrat to present green energy as some kind of answer to European dependency on Russian energy. It is ridiculous to the point of stupid. That would take decades, if it ever happens at all, and we don’t have decades to deal with an 11-day-old invasion.
Estimates for how long it could take to wean America off fossil fuels are all over the place. Shell put out a report suggesting the U.S. could have net-zero emissions by the year 2070. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), while he was seeking the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020, developed a plan that would supposedly eliminate the use of fossil fuels by 2050. Given the length of time it would take, it is easy to see this is not a viable strategy for dealing with Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and possibly against other countries like Moldova and Georgia.
Freddoso lays out a much better strategy for taking on Putin and diminishing his influence over the west:
Right now, President Joe Biden should issue every possible permit and sell every possible lease so that the U.S. can meet European demand to whatever extent possible. If his party’s far-Left objects, he should just point to Ukraine as his justification — it would probably help him, as he would be able to demonstrate some political independence for a change. And it would only be fair to provide some free gas to start with, to sweeten the deal for a medium-to-long-term relationship. We should be especially generous with our Polish allies, who are doing so much to shelter refugees this winter.
Of course, the stuff needs to be on a boat yesterday — should he decide to do the right thing, Biden has no time to waste.
Of course, we all know President Biden won’t do any such thing because of course he won’t. If the White House were actually serious about pushing back against dependence on Putin’s Russia, they would quickly develop and employ a plan to provide the western world with oil without having to rely on Moscow. We would find a way to ensure Europe does not have to risk poking the bear when it comes to protecting former members of the U.S.S.R.
Even further, they could do this while still moving towards a world in which we are less reliant on fossil fuels in general. To put it simply, if this administration were serious about the matter, they wouldn’t frame this as an either/or proposition in which we either let Putin pull our pants down and steal our lunch money or go green immediately. They would frame it as a both/and proposal in which we circumvented Russia’s use of oil as leverage and worked towards adopting more green energy over the next few decades.
But they aren’t, and we know why, don’t we?
The left in America and European nations does not care about reliance on Russia for energy. They care only about pushing their green agenda, much of which has nothing to do with the environment or climate change. They are satisfied with being beholden to a government that does not have our best interests at heart. It is yet another reason why these people must be voted out in the upcoming midterm elections.
