Victoria Gonzales is the New Mexico Director for Consumer Energy Alliance. Victoria reiterates the importance of traditional fuels, like oil and gas, on New Mexico’s economy.
“Oil and natural gas can and must continue to help the state achieve historic economic development and pay for critical social services like health care and better education funding.”
Read more – Santa Fe New Mexican
This week Alex Trebek updated us on his cancer diagnosis, Harvey Weinstein was moved to Riker’s Island jail after his hospital stay and Demi Lavato released her “I Love Me” video. While these headlines gave us some mixed emotions, we wanted to share our favorite stories from the energy sector. If you missed last week’s list, don’t worry you can find that here.
We inch closer and closer to self-driving vehicles every day, but a little more testing may be needed. Recently a Tesla on autopilot was tricked into speeding up because of two pieces of duct tape. While the average human can tell that 85 mph in a neighborhood is dangerous speed, the average robot is not so keen. Business Insider explains this sticky situation here.
There’s a good chance you’re reading this article on your phone, and while we know that electronic devices continue to be manufactured from traditional energy sources, there’s a different impact Congress is tackling. Continued conversation around weather emergencies knocking out cell usage has resulted in two bills this month. E&E News reviews the rest of the story here.
Until we are all able to afford a net-zero-emitting, liquid-hydrogen-fueled super yacht to travel around the world, the average American relies on air travel to get us to our destinations. We know that these aircraft can have a big emissions impact, but there are some definite improvements we can capitalize on as technology progresses. CNBC marshalls in this article here.
As we continue to see an integration of energy sources working together, energy companies have been calling on the technology industry to find solutions. Traditional sources are growing ever-cleaner, but renewable energy price tags are still a little steep to completely transition. In the meantime, tech companies are stepping in to help everyone meet in the middle. CNBC lays out the rest here.
Energy storage for renewable technology has long been a tough conversation. In the next few years, we will see more investments pouring into the energy storage sector. As a matter of fact it is proposed to take an almost $500 billion leap between 2019 and 2035. Forbes supplies the full details here.
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Edward Markey sponsor the Green New Deal. While the deal has seen great support in the press, it comes at a cost to the American consumer.
“The “Green New Deal” is not such a good deal for American energy consumers. Designed to completely replace America’s use of abundant and affordable energy sources such as natural gas, the resolution’s goal is to make the country entirely dependent upon renewable energy.”
Read more – Real Clear Energy
Louisville, KY – Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA), the leading consumer energy advocate, released the following statement after the Kentucky Senate voted (31 to 4) to approve HB-44, a critical pipeline and infrastructure protection bill. CEA Vice President of State Affairs Brydon Ross said:
“Consumer Energy Alliance wants to thank the House Natural Resources and Energy Committee Chairman Jim Gooch for his tireless efforts to address the Commonwealth’s key infrastructure protections and Senator Brandon Smith for moving the bill through committee and onto the floor for consideration. HB-44 will help ensure that legitimate free speech rights are protected while also preventing damage by those who act unlawfully and with harmful intent targeted at our critical energy infrastructure.”
“We commend Kentucky Senators for voting overwhelmingly to protect critical infrastructure, like the pipelines our communities rely on each day to function and keep our daily lives moving, both physically and economically. CEA urges Governor Andy Beshear to promptly sign HB-44 into law and to follow the example of the Kentucky House and Senate working across the aisle together for the greater good of our Commonwealth.”
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About Consumer Energy Alliance
Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) is the leading consumer advocate for energy, bringing together families, farmers, small businesses, distributors, producers, and manufacturers to support America’s environmentally sustainable energy future. With more than 550,000 members nationwide, our mission is to help ensure stable prices and energy security for households and businesses across the country. CEA works daily to encourage people across the nation to seek sensible, realistic, and environmentally responsible solutions to meet our energy needs. Learn more at ConsumerEnergyAlliance.org.
Contact:
Emily Haggstrom
P: 720-582-0242
David Holt, CEA President wants to remind us all that the U.S. is superseding the Paris Agreement guidelines. In fact, by 2025, we will be two-thirds of the way to the goal; not to mention, we’ve already cut more emissions than the entire European Union. These huge successes continue to be neglected by mainstream media, because of the obnoxious rhetoric used by radical anti-energy activists.
“The ear-piercing protests and handwringing by those who claim the United States is doing too little on the environmental front repeatedly fail to check their basic facts.”
It’s time we refocus our energy and attention to the progress that is actually being made here in the states.
“Our country in 2017 trimmed almost twice as much carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than any other nation, delivering the single-largest reduction of it on an absolute basis. This is occurring while the U.S. is the #1 producer of oil and natural gas; and the #2 producer of wind and solar power.”
Read more – Real Clear Energy
Consumer Energy Alliance’s Brydon Ross takes a stand on red tape created by anti-energy activists in the Appalachian Trail area.
“The idea that the 2,200-mile trail, under which more than 50 pipelines already pass, should become a Berlin Wall separating the Eastern Seaboard from the rest of the U.S. is ridiculous. The Supreme Court should tell antienergy interest groups to stop trying to make energy more expensive for families, businesses and consumers.”
Read more – Wall Street Journal
As we previously reported, the bipartisan American Energy Innovation Act is a great move by Chairman Murkowski and Ranking Member Manchin. The future of energy is going to need a lot of bipartisan support as we move into the future.
“The Consumer Energy Alliance praised the senators for championing the bill. ‘Too many of our discussions about energy are mired in partisan bickering and extreme positions that close off productive discussion … We are grateful for the leadership of Senators Murkowski and Manchin. Their bill provides opportunities to make real progress on the energy issues and environmental protections that all Americans support.'”
Read more – The Epoch Times
This Super Tuesday, we encourage everyone to cast their ballot for sound energy policies, no matter which candidate you choose.
There are several key issues up for debate this election. A big one is a proposed national fracking ban, which would have devastating ripple effects across our economy with a cost of up to $7 trillion, by some estimates. Such a ban, even if it were legally possible, would wipe out billions in savings for consumers and families, erode America’s unprecedented energy independence and security and curtail our environmental progress.
Another issue is a push to electrify everything by banning new natural gas hookups, a trend that removes consumer choice and is a blatant attempt to hobble a crucial ally to faster renewable energy deployment — the ready supply of natural gas our energy revolution has given us.
While these issues encourage anti-energy activists to to unfairly criticize our world-leading emissions reductions, we are starting to see a reprieve from existing legislators working across the aisle on energy policy. We encourage you to vote for a candidate that puts your energy needs ahead of their or some interest group’s agenda.
Super Tuesday is a vital part of the 2020 election and will have a major impact on the final election field. Voting is a right, and one that shouldn’t be taken for granted. Our democracy grants us the right to keep our legislators accountable, and part of that is letting them know where you stand on energy policy, which affects everyone’s wallet.
The average energy consumer needs a voice, and that is why we encourage you to spend some time doing your homework learning about what works for you policy-wise. We understand that learning about it can be frustrating at times, but it’s important.
Our simple rule of thumb is we look for policies that provide reliable, affordable energy for families, communities and small businesses while demonstrating environmental stewardship.
We are passionate about sound energy policy — and will continue to advocate for it in every election.
Gas prices in Parkersburg, West Virginia dropped 10 cents per gallon over the weekend. Midwest Executive Director of CEA, Chris Ventura explains how this happened:
“We’ve seen the price of a barrel of crude oil fall steadily in the past few weeks,” says Chris Ventura, Midwest Executive Director of the Consumer Energy Alliance. “As a result of that, we’re seeing some cost-savings at the pump. On top of that, we have some higher supplies of gasoline inventory right now, so that’s also helping push the price a little bit lower.”
Read more – WTAP
