Have you ever heard of the Dune Sagebrush Lizard?
Most people didn’t. There’s a good chance you’ve never heard of it either. Not unless you’ve spent time wandering the remote areas of West Texas and southeastern New Mexico.
That is where the spiny creatures live. Between sand dunes and scrubland. These tiny 2-inch lizards burrow deep into dune areas beneath the gleaming oaks of the Mescalero and Monahans Sandhills.
And while you may have never heard of the sand sagebrush lizard, its struggle for survival will soon impact your life. On May 17th, the same day, the Dow closed above 40,000 for the first time ever. Classified as an endangered species U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
This means that these small lizards and their habitat are now protected by federal law.
Perhaps this new legal protection status came too late. Most sandhill sagebrush lizard habitat is long gone. And what’s left is fragmented into small patches.
According to the Center for Biological Diversity, 95% of their habitat has been lost due to oil and gas development and fracking sand mining. The purpose of the USFWS is to preserve what little habitat is left for lizards to thrive.
In fact, the USFWS’ Endangered List would place the lizard as critical habitat. As a result, future oil and gas development will be limited and production in parts of the Permian Basin, the most prolific oil field in the United States, will slow.
Oil and gas companies must avoid operating in areas inhabited by lizards to avoid fines and jail time, according to the list. At this time, USFWS has not yet determined exactly where these critical habitat areas are. More research is needed.
lizard politics
Lizards are important in every way. Their lives matter. Just like you and the platypus, they deserve to live in peace and harmony.
Moreover, like the politics of global climate change, the politics of lizards are particularly important in regulating the oil and gas industry and undermining America’s energy security. To a certain political class, oil and gas companies, unlike sagebrush lizards, must die.
As you may recall, in January, President Biden suspended the approval of pending applications and future applications for liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports. The reason for withholding approval was so the government could consider the impact of the LNG export terminal on global climate change.
But the real reason has nothing to do with global climate change. And it has everything to do with winning the votes of climate change enthusiasts.
The current situation is thanks to the abundance of natural gas in the United States. So it’s very cheap here. By comparison, natural gas prices in Europe are typically more than 450% higher than in the United States.
But before natural gas can be shipped and exported, it must first be cooled to minus 260 degrees Fahrenheit and converted to liquid, or LNG. This requires energy. The same goes for shipping.
But many things require energy. And some energy use is a complete waste. For example, energy is needed to light, heat, and cool the U.S. Capitol building. It’s also needed to fly Biden’s gas-guzzling 1967 Corvette Stingray and John Kerry’s private jet to climate change conferences.
In the world of climate change politics, certain uses of energy are acceptable while others are not. LNG exports are not permitted at this time. After Election Day, things could change no matter who wins.
Just press the button
Fossil fuels (oil, natural gas, coal) 60 percent It is unlikely that any share of total U.S. utility-scale electricity production will be converted to renewable energy anytime soon. And this will not be achieved without the development of additional nuclear power to provide reliable baseload.
In the meantime, the United States will continue to rely on oil and gas for energy. This especially applies to the transportation sector, which will be dominated by electric vehicles by the end of 2023. One% The limited use of electric vehicles among all vehicles registered on U.S. roads does not significantly reduce consumer demand for petroleum-based gasoline.
Fortunately, U.S. oil and gas production has performed well over the past decade. At the end of 2023, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that U.S. crude oil production had reached an all-time high. arrival 13.25 million barrels per day September 2023.
By November 2023, that figure had risen to 13.29 million barrels per day. Since then it has taken a bit of a step back. However, it is consistently maintained at around 13 million barrels per day.
This record-breaking oil protection is surprising considering that as recently as 2010, monthly U.S. crude oil production was only 5 million barrels per day. This breakthrough was achieved through oil extraction advances in hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling. These technologies allowed U.S. oil producers to supply abundant oil to consumers.
These improvements in drilling efficiency have enabled record production at competitive prices while using fewer oil rigs. And this record production was achieved despite the Biden administration’s restrictive oil and gas policies.
As everything goes wrong in America, domestic oil production is going well. The politics of global climate change now take it for granted. Biden’s actions while president demonstrate his belief that bringing new oil to market can be turned on and off with the push of a button.
Happy driving in the Biden era
The Biden administration’s U.S. domestic energy policy, which limits the production and refining of carbon-based fuels, threatens America’s energy security. In response to the impact of rising oil prices on American consumers, President Biden has made a habit of making short-sighted political decisions.
During his tenure, he has systematically depleted the country’s Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPR). The purpose of the SPR is to create emergency buffers to mitigate the impact of supply disruptions. However, President Biden uses the SPR for personal political gain.
He released oil from the SPR before the 2022 midterm elections to lower gas prices at the pump so his Democratic colleagues in Congress can stay in power.
SPR currently stores: 368 million barrels Oil. When President Biden took office in January 2020, the SPR had 638 million barrels of oil. Biden has therefore exhausted more than 42% of America’s emergency oil supply for non-emergency purposes.
And now he’s taking even more reckless actions in a desperate attempt to secure another term. This time, the Northeast is depleting its gasoline supply reserves. that much stated purposeU.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said she would lower prices for consumers during the happy summer car season.
“The Biden-Harris Administration is focused on lowering gas prices for American families, especially as drivers hit the road for the summer driving season. “By strategically releasing these reserves between Memorial Day and the Fourth of July, we are ensuring sufficient supply flows to the tri-states and Northeast region where hardworking Americans need it most.”
With no gasoline reserves in the entire Northeast, it looks like it could be great, barring any geopolitical shocks.
Moreover, with America’s energy security now compromised by regulation and reckless depletion of reserves, it is virtually guaranteed that these political chickens and lizards will come home to roost.
[Editor’s note: Are you prepared for mass power outages? Most people aren’t and they are putting their families at risk. For this reason, I recently prepared a unique publication titled: “Energy Independence: Backyard Energy Savings and Abundant Power In A World Without Reliable Electricity.” >> Click Here, to access a complimentary copy.]
thank you,
minnesota gordon
for economic prism
A return to the economic prism from the Happy Car in the Biden era
