The Biden Administration's war on fossil fuels in the name of environmentalism has garnered strong criticism from Republicans. In light of continued emptying of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the ability of the United States to remain energy independent is of serious concern. Recently, Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-FL-26) appeared on Fox News' Evening Edit to discuss the balance between American energy independence and environmental integrity.
Tweeting the clip, Rep. Gimenez says that "energy is a global issue, which Biden's green energy plan fails to recognize. There is no reason why America shouldn't supply the world with AMERICAN fossil fuels, especially when they are 20%–30% cleaner."
Energy is a global issue, which Biden's green energy plan fails to recognize. There is no reason why America shouldn't supply the world with AMERICAN fossil fuels, especially when they are 20%–30% cleaner. pic.twitter.com/9EBztSvAys
— Rep. Carlos A. Gimenez (@RepCarlos) October 21, 2022
In the video itself, host Elizabeth MacDonald first asks, "have you ever heard them say, when they talk "transition," what "transition" means for working and middle-class families when it comes to costs?"
"No, they never do" Gimenez answers. "It's just this... they worship at the altar of this green energy policy, of the climate change orthodoxy. And no matter what it takes, we're going to get there. Except what they don't understand, apparently, that this is a worldwide issue."
He elaborates that the United States cannot wean itself from fossil fuels as quickly as the Biden Administration wants to, judging by a headline from Real Clear Energy featured in the clip. "And that we're doing really well here in the United States, other countries aren't doing very well, and that we're going to need fossil fuels for the next 50, 70, 100 years. That should be American fossil fuels, because we produce it 20 to 30% cleaner than the rest of the world."
"So even for environmental purposes," Gimenez concludes, "we should be enhancing American oil production and gas production. We should be doing that to help us Americans here at home, and we should also be doing that to help our allies overseas, that are now suffering through this winter, because, you know, they don't want to use, or their gas supplies have been interrupted by the Russians."
MacDonald points out that natural gas is indeed clean and reduces carbon emissions, to which Gimenez quickly agrees. The American Gas Association backs this assertion, stating that natural gas reduces carbon emissions by 20 to 30%, similar to Gimenez's statement.
"If we substituted natural gas for coal, especially in China, we would help reduce carbon emissions worldwide by a heck of a lot more than the stuff that we're doing over here. Here, we're just wasting our money, trillions and trillions of dollars, indebting our children for no reason whatsoever. Zero benefit to us or the planet."
