Eastern Europe Is Begging for Help

The Eastern European countries are begging for help from the USA.

European officials who want to reduce their dependency on Russian gas also have seized on the situation to mount a major lobbying campaign in Washington for new legislation to ease regulations on American LNG exports. Some of these countries, including Bulgaria, Sweden and the Baltic states, rely on Russia for 100 percent of their gas supplies, and Moscow has shown repeatedly it is willing to crimp supplies for leverage in political disputes.

We have the ability to help Eastern Europe be less dependent on Russia. This is what the USA is good at. We could out produce them, sell Eastern Europe all the fuel they could pay for. It would increase our exports, help our allies, and diminish Russia's influence. Will we do so?

Given the track record of our current President, it seems unlikely we will make this move.

EPA Sweeps Bogus Fracking Claims Under the Rug

In 2011, the EPA started making a big deal about a process called "fracking" which allowed gas and oil companies to extract more gas and oil from the ground than ever before. The claim was that fracking contaminated ground water, and should be immediately stopped.

Since 2011, the EPA has been unable to actually prove that claim because...well...it's a bogus claim. So, you would think that the EPA would issue a report saying that they have studied the issues and that they've found no connection.

You would be wrong.

At the time, Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead called the study "scientifically questionable," an opinion buttressed by the facts and the EPA's announcement on Thursday that it will not produce a final report or have outside experts review its claims of environmental harm. It told its story two years ago and is sticking to it. The story is bogus.

So instead of just admitting the facts and getting things cleared up, the EPA has decided to just end the investigation.

No final report, no peer-review, no nothing. The EPA is doing this because the report would directly and conclusively show that fracking has no effects on groundwater. And they can't have that kind of truth getting out there. They would have to admit being wrong. Our government can't admit facts.

Elizabeth Warren and the Keystone Pipeline

One issue that I haven't heard much about has been the Keystone pipeline. As I understand it this is the deal:

Canada has a bunch of oil. They need to refine this oil. We have one of the world's largest refinery complexes in Houston, TX. Accordingly, a company in Canada would like to partner with some private companies in the USA and build a pipeline (with their own money) to get the oil from Canada to Houston. However, before they can build the pipeline, they need the US Government to agree to let them do this. Seems pretty straightforward to me.

However, the Democrats (in control of the White House and the Senate) are opposed to having the pipeline built. Their argument is that building this pipeline will be a climate-change disaster. Apparently, the benefit of the jobs created, the lowering of the price of oil, and the reduction of our reliance on imported oil from the Middle-East is not enough to offset the danger to Gaia that will result from building a pipeline through the mostly uninhabited great plains.

Even the Boston Herald is starting to see the sheer lunacy of the resistance to this project. They have a new article out criticizing Elizabeth Warren's opposition to this pipeline, who all the Democrats like to think of as "the smartest person in the room".

Here's my favorite part of the article, which perfectly sums up the current Democratic energy policy:

Instead, the Liz Warren left starts with “No war for oil,” then “No oil from Canada,” “No nukes,” “No coal” and then the inevitable, “Hey — wait! My iPad just died and there’s no electricity to charge it. Where’s my oil?!”

Remember: They’re the smart ones.

Just to review: The pipeline will cost zero government dollars; it's being built by private companies. It's the perfect kind of infrastructure we need right now. It will create jobs. It will lower the price of oil. It will reduce our dependence on oil from the middle-east. Oh, and if you think that not building the pipeline is going to thwart Canada from refining the oil - think again. So the oil is going to get refined one way or another. The only question is who do you want refining it: the USA or China?

On a final note: Everything still runs on fossil fuels, so until Elizabeth Warren invents a car that runs on oatmeal and will do 0-60 mph in 7 seconds and will drive for about 400 miles, we're going to still need oil. That's just a damn fact.

My reaction to the Democratic energy policy.

US Government Delays Approval of Pipeline from Canada

Voting "Present" because he's worried about upsetting the environmentalists. How can you support a party that constantly tells you: Your job [building this pipeline] is not as important as a minnow.

You remember that person who does all the MSNBC ads talking about how we don't do "big things" anymore? They are unavailable for comment.

[HT Ace]