Caught between a rock and a hard place

We absolutely must reduce greenhouse gas emissions or the world, as we know it, will cease to exist. But the Russian onslaught in Ukraine is untenable and the US and European Union must stop buying Russia’s oil and natural gas. Our fossil fuel industry can make up the losses. Demands that we increase drilling are not the answer, because we are not without less stringent solutions.

The advice during the COVID-19 crisis has been to listen to the science. That’s also what we should do in deciding how to make up the shortages in the supply line  for heating homes and getting around.

Science tells us the goal is still renewable energy and electric vehicles and mass transit. In fact, a new United Nations study indicates the climate crisis is much worse than reported just last year. So, the timeline really is posthaste. But science has consistently said it can’t happen overnight; there must be a transition period.

Analysts say European countries can quickly reduce their gas dependence with energy efficiency measures and ramping up renewable energy investments. Importing liquified natural gas (LNG) from the US and elsewhere is another option. And Bill

McKibben (the 350.org guy) has urged President Biden to use the Defense Production Act to ramp up the manufacture of heat pumps and ship them to Europe.

The issue is more pronounced in the US since we’ve largely ignored the climate crisis “hoax” and continue to be overdependent on fossil fuels.

Analysts say drilling more oil in the US isn’t a viable solution. It would work for natural gas, but we export the light crude we produce and import the heavy crude we use, largely from Canada, Mexico, and the Middle East. Our domestic production actually increased in 2021, and the limits Biden has placed on drilling on federal lands don’t affect current production. Since the oil industry is sitting on thousands of unused drilling permits, we don’t need new oil and gas fields either, or pipelines.

We should not resume issuing drilling leases in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge, but rather make more efficient use of existing wells, especially in our highly productive Permian Basin. Instead of leasing more tracts for unneeded offshore oil, we should use our coastal areas for developing offshore wind energy.

Some of us remember the rationing and recycling during World War II. Our entire economy was also retooled. And most of us realize our climate problems aren’t going away. So, let’s use the war in Ukraine as an opportunity to focus on alternative energy sources and reducing greenhouse gas emissions – just as the European Union is doing.

Instead of refining oil in Washington, let’s become hubs for producing both green hydrogen and renewable aviation biofuels. Let’s retool and manufacture cross-laminated timber for constructing more energy efficient, tall wood buildings. Let’s become more attuned to saving our planet. We can lower the thermostat. We can conserve energy by not wasting the food we purchase. And we can use public transit more. As Bill McKibben jokes, “If you’re riding alone, you’re riding with Putin.”

The Earth is Sacred – Not Ours to Wreck                                               –submitted by Lon Dickerson