We now have a president of the United States, Donald Trump, who says he is committed to streamlining the federal government. He is setting up an investigatory arm of the administration, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), to identify and recommend the removal of wasteful government programs, departments, and personnel.
There is a case to be made for going much further to return the federal government to what the Founders intended, to pare it once more back to its proper constitutional boundaries. This will go beyond trimming the fat; it will involve cutting the imperial colossus our federal government has become down to the bone and then paring away some of the bone to boot.
In this seventh installment, let's talk about energy.
The United States is in an energy renaissance. We have, at best estimate, over 48.3 billion barrels of recoverable oil alone. That’s a lot of gasoline, heating oil, and petroleum by-products. We also have more than 691 total cubic feet (tcf) of recoverable natural gas. Detractors of exploiting those resources claim (accurately) that it would take years to bring them fully online. But we’ve been denying the development of those resources for decades! That, thankfully, is changing now, and the current administration seems to have a decent understanding that the best thing Washington can do is to stay out of the way.
See Related: Will Trump's Executive Order Killing Green New Deal Hurt Michigan Going Forward?
Whether people like it or not, our economy runs on oil and natural gas – especially oil, which runs our cars, trucks, locomotives, and aircraft. We have untapped reserves here in the United States – reserves we aren’t exploiting. Why not? Our energy policy needs some changes. What should change?
Pipelines. The federal government has the authority to hold up the portion of any pipeline that crosses, for example, the Canadian/U.S. border, but that’s a key portion since a great deal of recoverable gas and oil lies in the Great White North. The Canadians are developing their resources, and if Canada's Conservatives take control in the next election, they may step up production. Canada will want to sell that oil – and will, either to us or to someone else. (Read that to mean: China.)
Likewise, drilling in the Gulf of Mexico - excuse me, the Gulf of America - and the continental shelf needs to be ramped up. There have been a few deep-water oil spills that are rightly described as disasters, but there’s a contributing cause that you don’t hear very often: the high-risk deep-water drilling operation is the result of regulations prohibiting safer drilling in shallower waters near shore. Some people with views of the water are going to have to get used to seeing some oil rigs.
Refinery capacity. We don’t have enough. The reason for the Keystone pipeline running to Texas? That’s where the refineries are.
Related issue: There is an incredible patchwork of gasoline blends required by the several states. This drives the price of gasoline up and serves no good purpose. Granted this is an issue that has to be taken up by the state governments.
Markets, not governments, should drive energy development and use.
BTU-wise, combining oil, gas, and coal, the United States is #1 in the world when it comes to energy resources. We can be, and have been, a net energy exporter. Instead, under the Biden administration we began importing energy and in so doing, sending hard currency to parts of the world where it is often put to bad use. We are, in the original meaning of the term, carrying coal to Newcastle. The Trump administration, we should take note, is already working to fix this, largely by reducing government roadblocks.
Finally, let's talk about clean energy.
Like any other aspect of a modern economy, energy production should be left to markets, not enforced by the government. At present, the technology in solar, wind, and other "green" energy sources is wholly insufficient to support our economy. At present, there is no indication that those technologies will be economically feasible for most of our energy needs for the foreseeable future. Were it not for massive, wasteful, and corrupt (Solyndra, anyone?) government subsidies, most of these programs would never get off the ground. There are places where alternatives make sense; we know people here in Alaska, for example, who live off-grid and rely on a combination of generators and solar for electricity. Solar power in Alaska in winter isn't of much use, but in summer?
There is, of course, a clean energy technology that is economically and environmentally feasible available now. It is nuclear power, and we should be aggressively pursuing the next generation of fission power plants. Research into fusion plants is interesting, but at this point, it is only that; while development should continue, it's not solving today's energy problems.
Objections to nuclear power, let's face it, are frequently, if not predominantly, ill-informed and often hysterical. Popular culture does not help this situation, with idiotic television programming like "The Simpsons" presenting nuclear power plants as poorly maintained and excessively dangerous and their operators as corrupt and uncaring. Modern reactors, especially the new pebble-bed reactors, are extremely safe. Nuclear power could provide a huge boost to our faltering electrical generation capacity.
As we have seen, our energy future still relies heavily on natural gas and shale oil. But we can do more, especially for electrical generation. To pursue that end, the United States should:
Remove federal and state roadblocks to nuclear power plant development. Nuclear power as it stands today is an economically viable clean energy. While the waste produced is nasty and long-lived, it is small-scale and can be managed, and modern reactors can reuse fuel to produce more usable products, further minimizing the waste produced. There are geologically stable, deep-cave storage locations that already exist where such can be safely stored.
Develop and commercialize the lithium-fluoride-thorium reactor. This technology has existed since the 1960s and is presently undergoing something of a renaissance. These reactors are safe and efficient. The scale of production could make them economically viable as well.
Develop small modular reactors. This is a technology with global significance; small modular reactors have the potential to bring clean, cheap energy to remote locations. And it's important to note that we're not just talking Third World, here; there are plenty of Alaskan bush communities that would profit from cheap, clean electricity from such a system. And it would help with one other thing:
Also, the United States must decentralize and upgrade the power grid. Our grid as it exists today is highly vulnerable to an orbital EMP attack, a frightening scenario that is becoming possible for an increasing number of hostile, irrational, and unstable nations, like North Korea and Iran. A well-planned EMP attack could send much of the United States back to the mid-1800s technologically, and we are dangerously vulnerable. As a matter of national security and defense, this is an issue where the federal government has a legitimate reason to be involved. And, we should note, this would also serve to harden the grid against a major solar event, like the Carrington event.
On other "clean energy" fronts, the United States should: Immediately and unequivocally end the federal government's interference in the energy marketplace. Stop the wasteful ethanol subsidy, stop tariffs on imported ethanol, and most of all, stop the subsidy of "green" energy and alternative automobile manufacturers. If a private organization can build an electric car that consumers will want to buy, they will do so; if they can't, they won't. We've poured far, far too much money down this particular rathole already.
Read: Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI
America's energy future has to acknowledge the importance of gas, oil, and nuclear power. The arguments against nuclear power are outdated and all too often, inaccurate and hysterical. The marketplace is where decisions as to power production should be made, and market forces would almost certainly favor clean, modern, safe nuclear power.
Our modern, technological lifestyle depends on abundant, affordable, reliable energy. Fortunately, the Trump administration seems to be on course to remove government barriers and to allow America to be once more energy independent - and even an energy exporter.
