Commentary: The Difficult Truths About Unrenewable ‘Renewables’

Today in America, there are obvious disconnects between observable reality and the narratives we get from the corporate special interests controlling the news we consume, along with politicians who are supposedly elected to represent us.

This is nothing new. Elites have defined America’s destiny throughout its history. The only difference today is that the internet, despite ongoing crackdowns, still manages to deliver an unprecedented volume of contrarian perspectives to millions of people. We aren’t any freer or less manipulated today than we ever were, we’re just more aware of it.

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Ohio Congressmen Latta and Balderson Introduce Bill to Boost Energy Refining Capacity

Two Ohio congressmen are spearheading legislation to boost U.S. fossil-fuel-refining capacity which has declined since 2020. 

Representatives Bob Latta (R-OH-5) and Troy Balderson (R-OH-12) are sponsoring the Researching Efficient Federal Improvements for Necessary Energy Refining (REFINER) Act alongside Congressmen Greg Pence (R-IN-6), and Randy Weber (R-TX-29). The measure would commence a federal effort to study factors that have led to lessened refinery capacity and recommend policies to increase fuel refining. 

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Ohio State Senate Passes Bill Expanding Drilling on State Land

Within 24 hours of presenting the idea, Ohio Senate Republicans passed legislation on Wednesday that aims to expand the ability to drill for oil and gas on state-owned lands.

A 2011 state law gave state agencies the power, if they choose, to lease out state lands for oil and gas exploration and production. However, the Oil and Gas Land Management Commission has been slow to approve any projects. Former Governor John Kasich signed that bill into law but didn’t appoint anyone to the commission for years. Under Governor Mike DeWine, the commission has met more often but has not approved leases.

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Rep. Austin Scott Meets with Taiwanese Ambassador as Rep. Drew Ferguson Lambasts Biden for Oil Relations with Communist China

U.S. Representatives Austin Scott (R-GA-08) and Drew Ferguson (GA-03) were among the delegation of American officials that met the Taiwanese Ambassador to the United States Hsiao Bi-khim at a China Task Force roundtable on Thursday.

Rep. Scott took the opportunity to express his frustration at the Biden administration for its stance on energy and the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) of the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

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Biden Copies Trump Proposal to Refill Oil Reserves – and Spends Way More Doing It

The Biden administration announced plans Thursday to refill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) two years after Democrats blocked the Trump administration’s similar, but cheaper proposal.

The Department of Energy (DOE) said it would initiate a long-term SPR replenishment plan involving a purchase of 60 million barrels of oil that would likely occur in 2023, according to the announcement. President Joe Biden has ordered a 50-million-barrel SPR release in November, a 30-million-barrel release on March 1 and a 180-million-barrel release on March 31 to combat rising gasoline prices.

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Propane Heating Costs Hit Highest Level Since 2011 as Winter Approaches

Propane tank

Propane heating costs in the U.S. rocketed to $2.59 per gallon this month, the highest level in a decade, as winter quickly approaches, the federal government said Friday.

The average cost of propane during the first four weeks of the current winter season, which begins in October, was 49% higher than last year, according to an Energy Information Administration (EIA) report. The agency noted that the low propane supply is a major reason for the increased prices.

“U.S. propane and propylene inventories are starting this winter season lower than in recent years; weekly U.S. inventories are averaging 28% lower than the same time last year and 21% lower than their recent five-year (2015–2020) average,” the report stated.

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Labor Shortage Slows Oil Production in Major Fracking State

A shortage of workers has contributed to a significant crude oil production slowdown in North Dakota, the second-largest U.S. oil hub behind only Texas.

The labor shortage has caused oil output to become “flat as a pancake,” North Dakota State Mineral Resources Director Lynn Helms told The Bismarck Tribune. Energy companies have struggled to find workers needed to do the laborious work — injecting water, sand and chemicals into wells to extract oil — associated with fracking.

“Most of these folks went to Texas where activity was still significantly higher than it was here, where they didn’t have winter and where there were jobs in their industry,” Helms said, according to the Tribune. “It’s going to take higher pay and housing incentives and that sort of thing to get them here.”

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Left Wing Activists Target New Mexico Officials In Brutal Fight Over Mundane Fracking Rule

Jay Block, New Mexico

by Chris White   Environmentalists in a small New Mexico county are ratcheting up the rhetoric against local fracking ordinances as government officials fear the fight is taking on new and terrifying dimensions. Members of the state’s Sandoval County commission claim activists are haranguing them for contemplating rules permitting gas extraction. Documents also show activists are pressuring commissioners to block industry representatives from discussing future ordinances on natural gas production. “We got blasted by the public about being racists and baby killers,” Jay Block (pictured), one of the commission’s two Republicans, told The Daily Caller News Foundation, referring to insults people hurled at him during debates about gas exploration in the county. Block is in an untenable position, stuck in between an animated anti-gas movement and concerns about the county’s economic well-being. “The citizens are driving the narrative,” said Block, a conservative who worked for the Jack Kemp presidential campaign in 1987. “They are delivering misinformation to the public and not one time has the industry been invited,” he added, referring to the Citizens Watch Group (CWG), an activist group created after the commission voted down ordinances in 2017 following significant public outcry. The proposed ordinance would have banned drilling and fracking within…

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