Graph Credit: Mark J. Perry Data released yesterday by the U.S. Energy Information Administration shows U.S. natural gas production set another record in 2009, marking a 12.2% increase since 2006, which makes America the world’s No. 1 producer of natural gas. Thanks to advances in technologies and the use of safe drilling techniques such as hydrological fracturing, U.S. reserves are now estimated at over 2,000 trillion cubic feet (TCF), approximately a 100 year supply. Unlike oil consumption, the U.S. is not dependent on unstable foreign countries for natural gas—nearly 98 percent of the natu... Read More »
Ranking Republican Doc Hastings (R-WA) In March, 1959, Congress passed and with the stroke of a pen President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed into law, the Hawaii Admission Act, which pending approval of the Hawaiian residents, designated Hawaii as America's 50th state. On June 27 of the same year, 94.3 percent of Hawaiians voted in favor of the Hawaii Admissions Act and joining the union as one unified state. That historic vote gave the residents of Hawaii all rights, privileges and freedoms associated with being an American citizen. Unfortunately, Congressional Democrats are prepared to deeply ... Read More »
Most Americans do not believe dealing with global warming should be high on President Obama and Congress' agenda, placing it at the bottom of a list of policy concerns. Just 28% say it should be a "top priority," the lowest measure for any issue tested in the survey. And 20% said dealing with global warming is "not too important" while 14% said nothing should be done at all -- both highs in the survey. Since 2007, when global warming was first included on the priorities list, it has ranked near the bottom; but in 2007, 38% considered it a top priority. The low level of concern is driven by Rep... Read More »
We wanted to make sure everyone saw this release today from the USGS detailing how U.S. mineral production declined by 20% in 2009 – with the estimated value dropping from $71 billion to $57.1 billion. Minerals are vital to every facet of our economy and necessary for infrastructure, electronics, telecommunication and national security. This decline in production further damages our struggling economy and threatens the jobs of the quarter-of-a-million people work directly in America’s mining industry. Equally alarming is that U.S. is growing even more dependent of foreign sources of minerals. ... Read More »
Rep. Paul Broun (R-GA) Today, President Obama will announce the building of two new nuclear reactors at a Southern Company plant in Georgia. This is a step in the right direction towards achieving energy independence in the United States, but there is much more work to be done. Increasing nuclear power is just the first step in a comprehensive, all-of-the-above plan for energy independence. Rather than additional regulations, we need additional refineries, clean coal and nuclear power plants, as well as ethanol, biodiesel, wind and solar investments. Expanding our energy portfolio and underta... Read More »
Republicans at today’s Water and Power Subcommittee hearing had one clear message for Congressional Democrats and the Administration: turn the pumps on! Communities in California’s San Joaquin Valley have been devastated by a man-made, regulatory drought that has left thousands of people unemployed. Click below to watch House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Doc Hastings, Subcommittee Ranking Member Tom McClintock, and Rep. Devin Nunes call on Congress to pass the Turn on the Pumps Act (H.R. 3105) to provide immediate relief. Rep. Doc Hastings' Remarks Rep. Tom McClintock's Remarks R... Read More »
Rep. Rob Bishop (R-UT) Supporters of cap-and-trade often make bold claims about climate change legislation. Rapturous-sounding rhetoric such as “this legislation will create jobs by the millions, save money by the billions and unleash investment in clean energy by the trillions,” is common in the cap-and-trade debate. Indeed, proponents typically describe cap-and-trade as the equivalent of a giant magic job Pez dispenser. I am convinced they are wrong. Cap-and-trade legislation will only cap our economy and trade American jobs overseas. There are many devastating analyses of the costs and eff... Read More »
On Friday, Sean Higgins with Investor's Business Weekly blogged about President Obama’s recent announcement on a new Green Jobs initiative. The new program will award $2.3 billion in tax credits to create just 17,000 green energy jobs. “Well, get out your calculator. $2.3 billion for 17,000 jobs equals $135,294 per job. (And that’s not including the eventual interest on this deficit spending). Those green jobs had better pay well over six figures to justify that expense.” With double-digit unemployment and a soaring deficit, Americans can't afford the Administration's misguided policies that h... Read More »
Secretary Salazar frequently claims that he supports of all-of-the-above energy development and has even stated that promotion of renewable energy on public lands is one of his top priorities. Yet just yesterday, his National Park Service sided with the anti-energy crowd and struck a blow to the Cape Wind project, the first planned offshore wind farm in the US, by declaring that the Nantucket Sound is eligible for listing in the National Registrar as a historic place. Despite this setback, Secretary Salazar still has the ability to save the project if he so chooses. As the New York Times repor... Read More »
