When you stop drilling on federal lands, and you stop cross country pipelines from being constructed, when you stop offshore drilling, you drive up gas prices. Brandon doesn't have control over the pricing, but has control over a lot of stuff that reflects pricing. Not only that, but it affects supply, low domestic supply means we have to import the rest at higher prices. Higher prices means Russia and the Arabs make more money, not us. Half the land west of the Mississippi is owned by the Federal government. Grasslands, national forests, desert, etc. There is a 200 year supply of shale oil out there as well as a 200 year supply of natural gas. We also have an 800 year supply of coal.
I don't mind using wind energy, or solar energy, or electric cars. However, you absolutely can't throw out the baby with the bath water. If wind and solar are as cheap or cheaper than coal and natural gas, go for it. However, not many people live in the plains states or near the ocean where there is a lot of continuous wind, or in the Southwest where there is a lot of sun during the day. There is also 52% of American homes that use natural gas. Their appliances can last from 15 - 30 years. I have an oven and cooktop that are 31 years old and still kicking. Also a water heater, and furnace. My first furnace lasted 30 years, just recently replaced it. First water heater lasted 25 years. If taken care of and not abused, this stuff isn't going away. Even if we went totally electric on vehicles and had a battery that would go 1,000 miles on a charge, there are 200,000 million cars, trucks, and buses on the US highways. These are going to be on the road for another 20 years minimum. They are not going away that fast. We still need oil, gas, and coal. Plastics and medicines are made from them as well as fertilizer (natural gas is used to make ammonium nitrates). We will need fossil fuels for at least 20-30 more years minimum.
If we did start running out, or the price got high enough, oil for gasoline and diesel can be made from algae. Natural gas can be made by the Sabatier process using power and water during off peek periods. Dairy farms and feed stalls can gather enough manure to make 1/3 of Americas natural gas, with fertilizer as a byproduct. Forcing people to change is not good. Tax cuts and tax breaks work better. Germany is using excess wind energy off the North Sea to make hydrogen gas and mixing 20% hydrogen into the natural gas system because their gas comes from Russia, delivered via a pipeline from St. Petersburg under the Baltic Sea to north Germany by-passing the Ukraine and Poland. Ukraine once cut off the gas going to Western Europe to punish Russia.
Anyway, we have to look at the big picture. 200 million vehicles on fossil fuels, 52% of American homes using natural gas which is 1/3 of the gas usage, power plants and industry use another 1/3, with commercial using the other 1/3. Canning and processing foods use a lot of gas because it is easier to maintain pressure than electric. Also glass making, and melting aluminum uses a lot of gas. Steel is made from coal, limestone, and iron ore. It needs coal to smelt it due to the high heat needed.
Can we go totally wind, solar, and electric cars? Sure, but it will take an estimated $1 trillion spent over about 50 years. You have to have hydro, flywheel, or battery storage for nights and low wind. You also can't forget the nukes. Nuclear power is now about 20-23% of Americas total power production, and a few new ones are being built. It ain't going to happen overnight. Only two countries so far are 98% wind and hydro dams, that is Norway and Scottland. England is pushing hard to go wind in a few years.
It is not either or on energy. It is use what we have as cheaply as possible (government get out of the way), while using some of the new ideas to especially get rid of imported oil. Also, if we brought our factories home, there will be an increased demand for power and gas. I know in textiles, you can't singe the lint off finished cloth without natural gas or propane. A lot of power is needed for motors, injection molding machines, melting rubber, melting plastics, melting metals, melting glass, to be made into products. Having an abundance of cheap energy encourages companies to make things here.
