Quote (Sixers @ 23 Nov 2021 23:19)
There's no connection between Biden's decision on the Keystone XL pipeline and the increased gas prices. Even if construction wasn't halted, the Keystone XL pipeline wasn't in operation, and wouldn't have been in operation for a long time. Therefore it wouldn't have an impact on current gas prices at all.
In regards to fracking; Biden promised a ban and he has done the complete opposite, in fact he has pushed for more of it....
So again, none of this is the reason for the high gas prices. These are all just common bullshit things you see posted on Facebook that people repeat time and time again, but none of them are actually the cause. Gas prices are high globally, not just in the U.S. It's a simple case of supply and demand as the global economy rebounds from the pandemic and demand is at an all-time high while the supply is still catching up and in many cases still limited due to covid-19 protocols. It doesn't matter who would be in office right now, the gas prices would go up just like they are everywhere else....
This is not only about Keystone XL, it's also about other pipelines:
https://www.politico.com/news/2021/11/07/biden-faces-heat-pipeline-propane-cost-519788And about Biden's moratorium on drilling permits for federal land, which he only let go when courts forced him to:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/nov/17/biden-administration-gulf-of-mexico-oil-gas-drilling-leasesAnd of course the psychological effect plays a huge role. Why would any fossil company, particularly smaller fracking companies rather than megacoprs, go out on a limb when the POTUS is signalling that he wants the industry dead?
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Biden struck a defiant posture against the fossil fuel industry when campaigning for the White House, stating in a Democratic primary debate last year that there will be “no more subsidies for fossil fuel industry. No more drilling on federal lands. No more drilling, including offshore. No ability for the oil industry to continue to drill, period, ends[...]
Once in office, Biden quickly moved to realize at least part of this vision, calling a temporary halt to the issuance of oil and gas drilling permits across America’s vast publicly owned lands.
Fact of the matter is that gas prices stayed low over the past decade, in contrast to the soaring prices of the 2000s, because the American fracking industry was able to quickly move in and compensate any throttled production by OPEC. The pandemic has devastated the fracking industry however, and Biden is deliberately doing absolutely nothing to help them get on their feet, on the contrary, he's creating a hostile environment for this industry - the industry which would be the only chance to counteract or at least alleviate OPEC's ongoing, strategic squeeze.
I'm not saying that Biden's stance on fossil fuels is necessarily the wrong one, but he is clearly prioritizing, in a multitude of ways, a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions over affordable energy. Pretending like all the big and little things he's doing in this regard have nothing to do with gas prices is intellectually dishonest. Yes, the single biggest contributing factor (aftershock of the pandemic, global supply chain issues) to the current surge in energy prices is not Biden's fault, but no, this does not absolve him from the contribution his policies and his messaging have had on the current situation.
At the end of the day, prioritizing a reduction in emissions over cheap energy is a landmark policy decision made by the administration and the admin will have to bear the political responsibility for it, no matter how much they backpedal and deflect.
This post was edited by Black XistenZ on Nov 23 2021 05:16pm