{"id":31352,"date":"2024-01-27T13:49:32","date_gmt":"2024-01-27T21:49:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=31352"},"modified":"2024-01-27T13:49:32","modified_gmt":"2024-01-27T21:49:32","slug":"um-i-think-we-all-just-won","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2024\/01\/27\/um-i-think-we-all-just-won\/","title":{"rendered":"Um, I Think We All Just Won"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"rsn.org<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Bill McKibben\/Substack<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Um,The sun setting over Venture Global\u2019s Calcasieu Pass LNG facility in Cameron, La. (photo: Brandon Thibodeaux\/The New York Times<\/strong>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

26 january 24<\/strong> (RSN.org)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Afew minutes ago the New York Times moved a story<\/a> saying that the White House has decided to pause permitting for new LNG terminals\u2014if it\u2019s true, and I think it is, this is the biggest thing a U.S. president has ever done to stand up to the fossil fuel industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Times story begins with the next project in line, the mammoth CP2 export terminal planned for Louisiana<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Energy Department is required to weigh whether the export terminal is in \u201cthe public interest,\u201d a subjective determination. But now, the White House has requested an additional analysis of the climate impacts of CP2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Natural gas, which is primarily composed of methane, is cleaner than coal when it is burned. But methane is a much more potent greenhouse gas in the short term, compared with carbon dioxide, and it can leak anywhere along the supply chain<\/a>, from the production wellhead to processing plants to the stovetop. The process of liquefying gas to make it suitable for transport is incredibly energy intensive as well, creating yet more emissions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whatever new criteria is used to evaluate CP2 would be expected to be applied to the other 16 proposed natural gas terminals that are awaiting approval.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Yes, there are always devils in the details. And it doesn\u2019t guarantee long-term victory\u2014it sets up a process where victory is possible (to this point, the industry has gotten every permit they\u2019ve asked for). But I have a beer in my hand. If the administration backtracks, it will be a disappointment of epic proportion that I can\u2019t imagine them doing it. Here\u2019s what veteran energy analyst Jeremy Symons, who has been a rock in this fight, just emailed campaigners<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I am heartened by several things in this article, including, critically, that the full array of LNG projects are potentially implicated. Also, this: “Within the White House, there is little division over the decision to delay CP2, in part because it is not seen as a major energy security issue, said people familiar with the discussion. That\u2019s because the United States is already producing and exporting so much gas. That capacity is set to nearly double over the next four years, making the need for CP2 less urgent.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As you all know, this is a sea change in how the administration has viewed LNG. It is not by any means a final victory, but we KNOW that the facts will win the day when given a fair hearing. We have never had a fair hearing, until now.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

One reason to think the Times story is correct is that the right wing is already screaming. Mitch McConnell took to the floor of the Senate to say<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThis move would amount to a functional ban on new LNG export permits,\u201d Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, said on the Senate floor Wednesday. \u201cThe administration\u2019s war on affordable domestic energy has been bad news for American workers and consumers alike.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

As usual, he\u2019s wrong. Exporting natural gas of course drives the price up<\/em> for American consumers. <\/strong>That\u2019s how economics work\u2014so Biden\u2019s stand is an actual live inflation reduction act.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the only other argument that the fossil fuel industry has mustered\u2014that Europe needs more gas in the wake of Putin\u2019s invasion\u2014is simply wrong. We\u2019re already sending them plenty\u2014the world is awash in cheap gas. As Ben Jealous (head of the Sierra Club and former head of the NAACP) said in the Washington Post this morning<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis makes clear that European demand for natural gas will steadily drop<\/a> in the years ahead, because the continent, in the wake of Vladimir Putin\u2019s invasion, dramatically stepped up its conversion to renewable energy.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

This decision is brave, because Donald Trump (the man who pulled us out of the Paris climate accords on the grounds that climate change is a hoax) will attack it mercilessly. But it\u2019s also very very savvy: Biden wants young people, who care about climate above all, in his corner. They were angry about his dumb approval of the Willow oil project in Alaska. CP2 alone would produce 20 times the greenhouse gas emissions of Willow. And of course everyone understands that if Biden is not reelected this win means nothing\u2014it will disappear on day one when the \u2018dictator\u2019 begins his relentless campaign to \u2018drill drill drill.\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m holding my breath as I type this post. After pouring my heart into this fight for the last six months it seems almost too good to be true. But there are people who have been pouring their hearts into it for much longer than that. I just got off the phone with the marvelous Roishetta Ozane and she was in tears of joy, so I soon joined her in that condition. There\u2019s James Hiatt, John Beard, Travis Dardar, Ann Rolfes and many many more like them down on the Gulf, and people like Rev Yearwood of the Hip Hop Caucus who are at home both in the bayous and in the DC swamp. There\u2019s the wonder-workers at Third Act who started conjuring together what now looks like it may be an unnecessary protest action in DC next month\u2014even this morning they were wrestling with questions like \u201ccan we use upper bunkbeds to house people coming for the protest?\u201d There\u2019s a huge pick-up crew of hardy souls from the big environmental groups like NRDC, LCV, and all the other mighty initials; there are TikTok magicians like Alex Haraus; and there are and remarkable behind-the-scenes coordinators like Jamie Henn and Maura Cowley. I could go on almost endlessly, and I imagine I will in the weeks ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Times gave me entirely too much credit (and, ironically, so did the Wall Street Journal yesterday in their editorial<\/a> opposing this move, where they called me \u201cchief climate lobbyist\u201d). It was actually, well, you<\/em> who rose to the call<\/strong>. When I started writing about this at summer\u2019s end, it was hard to get people all that interested in \u201cLNG export,\u201d which does not sound on its face like that sexy a topic. But man did you go to work\u2014writing letters, making calls, signing up to go to jail. I just want to say thanks. This community gets things done.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we fight, we sometimes win.<\/strong> More often than I\u2019d guess, actually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More on this story as it develops. And\u2026.there is no other energy and climate news today. Apologies but this is going to have to do.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bill McKibben\/Substack The sun setting over Venture Global\u2019s Calcasieu Pass LNG facility in Cameron, La. (photo: Brandon Thibodeaux\/The New York Times) 26 january 24 (RSN.org) Afew minutes ago the New York Times moved a story saying that the White House has decided to pause permitting for new LNG terminals\u2014if it\u2019s true, and… Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1767],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31352"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31352"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31352\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31353,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31352\/revisions\/31353"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31352"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31352"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31352"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}