The Biden administration's energy policies are somewhere to the left of disastrous; they don't understand the necessity of cheap, abundant power, they don't remember how dirty the air was only 50 years ago, and they sure don't comprehend the meaning of "energy density." On Sunday, at "The Hill," Opinion Contributor Jason Isaac presented a cogent list of the Biden administration's malpractices on the energy front. It's worth the read — but there's one thing he misses.
Biden’s anti-fossil fuel crusade won’t result in cleaner air or a cooler climate. But it will destroy an important and necessary source of affordable American energy, and one we need even more as inflation continues to dog our economy, foisting even more financial suffering on those least able to afford it.
Ironically, this crusade will also render Biden’s electric vehicle goals hopelessly unattainable.
The Biden administration justifies its anti-coal crusade with a conveniently timed and scientifically questionable report from the American Lung Association, claiming our air is dangerously dirty.
He is correct, of course. Some of us Boomers are old enough to remember the troubles with smog in places like Los Angeles, rivers catching fire, and the litter that was on the shoulders of every highway and byway in the nation. But we have, by and large, won the fight for clean air, water, and landscapes. But it is in the nature of social movements that they cannot admit defeat, fold their tents, and go home; they have to keep focusing on ever-smaller, incremental things to be outraged about so as to keep the flow of donations coming from well-meaning but gullible rubes.
Or, in the case of politicians, to keep the rubes voting for them by crying about air quality that is probably better than it has been since before the Industrial Revolution. And make no mistake — the Biden administration is after one goal: eliminating cheap energy, be it coal, oil, or anything that doesn't involve big eagle-crunching windmills or acres of land taken up by solar arrays.
See Related: Team Biden Pulls Away From Touting 'Bidenomics.' It's About Time.
Biden Betting on the Middle? Not Likely.
Contrary to the clickbait headlines, America leads the world in clean air. The U.S. has slashed air pollution by an unprecedented 78 percent over the last five decades — all while our population, economy, energy consumption, and vehicle use have soared. There are few developed countries that can rival America’s air quality.
The air quality issue is hamstrung by the mistaken belief that pollution must be reduced to zero at all costs. Instead, policymakers should make verifiable health and safety their top priority — in which case, America has already won.
And it's not just air quality. In 1969 — only 55 years ago — the Cuyahoga River actually caught fire due to pollution. That was, ironically, one of the events that prompted the creation of Earth Day — and that fight has largely been won, to the point where the Environmental Protection Agency is fretting about the search for micrograms of various chemicals in rivers. That is, in places where an incompetent (Democrat-controlled) city government hasn't messed up the drinking water.
There's also a good point made about electricity generation:
On the one hand, Biden is pushing to electrify everything; on the other, he deliberately chooses unreliable and expensive electricity. His new EPA rules will make it harder and more expensive than ever for coal and natural gas producers to do their jobs — and contrary to the Left’s widespread assumption, it just won’t be possible for renewable energy to fill in the gaps. Wind and solar are only reliable when the weather cooperates, and they’re far more expensive.
There's one thing that Mr. Isaac doesn't mention, though: nuclear power.
I harp on this topic a lot because nuclear power could be a long-term solution that should make everyone happy. Nuclear power really is carbon-emission-free; it's clean, newer reactors are safe and efficient, the amounts of waste produced are small and we have a great place to store the nastiest stuff. And when it comes to energy density, nuclear power can't be beat — in fact, it can't even be approached. Until — if — nuclear fusion power becomes practical, nuclear fission, as we are using now, could and would answer a lot of our demand for cheap, clean electricity. And the newer modular reactors are even more adaptable, especially for small, outlying communities — like, say, small towns in Idaho, Wyoming — or Alaska.
In energy, as in almost everything, the Biden administration is simply incompetent. They talk about moderation while appeasing the far left; they talk about jobs while crushing productiveness and innovation, and every energy policy they advocate would end up in higher costs, less reliability, and would degrade our modern technological lifestyle.
Everything we do today relies on cheap, abundant energy. Democrats are against that. And this November, that's one of the things the American electorate should remember.
