Energy in the Executive: The real record on fossil fuels
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Energy in the Executive: The President's real record on
fossil fuels
Wall Street Journal Editorial, October 18, 2012
One of the feats of President Obama's re-election campaign is its
ability to describe his record in a way that bears little or no
relation to the reality of the last four years. Exhibit A is Mr.
Obama's riff on energy at Tuesday night's debate, when he all but
ran to the right of Mitt Romney, and maybe Sarah Palin.
The exchange began when an audience member asked Mr. Obama about
Steven Chu's job description, which the Energy Secretary has
repeatedly said does not include helping to lower gasoline prices.
Mr. Obama never answered that one, but he did use the opportunity
to pose as the John the Baptist of fossil fuels, invoking oil
drilling, the natural gas fracking boom and even coal
production.
Mr. Obama (and his green allies) must have died a little on the
inside when he said that, given that he ran in 2008 on a promise to
build a "new energy economy," by which he meant everything but
fossil fuels.
As we have learned, the plan was to subsidize dozens of companies
with little commercial potential but that were often owned by Mr.
Obama's green allies. Meanwhile, the Environmental Protection
Agency would go on a regulatory binge like nothing in modern U.S.
history against traditional carbon-based sources of energy, coal in
particular.
Mr. Romney went small bore in the debate, noting that the
Administration has not in practice promoted the production of U.S.
energy resources on federal lands and waters, in fact the opposite.
Mr. Obama responded by flatly stating that "very little of what
Governor Romney just said is true. We've opened up public lands.
We're actually drilling more on public lands than in the previous
Administration." He said he supported "an all-of-the-above
strategy."
"But that's not what you've done in the last four years," Mr.
Romney said. "That's the problem." Mr. Obama: "Sure it is." Mr.
Romney: "In the last four years, you cut permits and licenses on
federal land and federal waters in half." Mr. Obama: "Not true,
Governor Romney."
Then there was this timeless bit: Mr. Obama: "The production is
up."
Mr. Romney: "Production on government land of oil is down
14%."
Mr. Obama: "Governor-"
Mr. Romney: "And production of gas is down 9%."
Mr. Obama: "What you're saying is just not true. It's just not
true."
The problem for the President is that a government outfit called
the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) compiles these
statistics. That's where Mr. Romney got his accurate figures on oil
and gas production on government land and permitting in Mr. Obama's
first term. The EIA also reports that total fossil fuel production
in public areas-oil, gas and coal-has plunged to a nine-year low,
to 18.6 quadrillion BTUs from 21.2 quadrillion in 2003.
Mr. Obama is correct that overall domestic energy production is up,
thanks largely to the shale boom in states like Pennsylvania and
North Dakota. But he's trying to take credit for something he had
nothing to do with, given that this surge is taking place on
private property and the EPA is searching for an excuse to supplant
state regulation and slow down drilling. Wait for the second
term.
The President's cameo as a coal guy is even more amazing. In 2008
Mr. Obama declared that he wanted electricity rates for so-called
dirty fuels to "necessarily skyrocket" and "if somebody wants to
build a coal plant, they can-it's just that it will bankrupt
them."
That's one promise he's kept: For the first time, coal is in
decline, with production falling 6.5% since 2008, according to the
EIA. Part of the reason is a shock from cheap natural gas. But the
major reason is a surge of EPA air and water rules, such as an
unrealistic and pointless $9.6 billion rule for trace mercury
emissions that the agency put out last year.
The EIA expects 8.5% of the coal-fired fleet to retire by 2016, and
17% by 2020, and those are very conservative estimates. Coal has
fallen to 32% of U.S. net electric generation, according to
preliminary EIA data for 2012. This share stood at about 48% when
Mr. Obama took office.
All of this amounts to one of the fastest energy transitions in
U.S. history. Even some regulators within the Administration oppose
the EPA's force majeure, fearing blackouts and other reliability
issues as plants are retired despite many remaining useful years.
Amid mine closings and layoffs, the United Mine Workers of America
declined to endorse Mr. Obama this year, though the union did in
2008.
And let us not forget the Keystone XL pipeline from Canada, which
Mr. Obama personally rejected amid a furious green lobbying
campaign. His debate answer to that fact was to assert that "we've
built enough pipeline to wrap around the entire Earth once,"
whatever that means. It reflects well on Mr. Romney's temperament
that he didn't pull the full Joe Biden and start hooting.