Free Republic

SNIP China wants the fighting in Eastern Europe to stop right now. Beijing is issuing a clear, uncompromising command to both Russia and Ukraine. The message came directly from the United Nations floor. Sun Lei serves as China’s deputy representative, and he delivered his remarks during a recent Security Council gathering. The Moscow Times reported that China is firmly demanding an immediate return to the negotiating table. Beijing claims it wants to guide the political process. Lei held nothing back when addressing the packed room. “We strongly urge you to end the conflict as soon as possible. We also strongly...

President Trump promised on Day One to end the permitting nightmare that buries American projects for years. One year later, the numbers are in. The White House published a release on June 30, 2026 marking the milestone, and the scale of the overhaul is bigger than most people realized. The release says more than 60 agencies and departments have now reformed, or are in the process of reforming, their procedures after CEQ reviewed thousands of pages of rules and related materials. The core problem is a law called NEPA. For decades, the White House argues, the review process was used...

Among our “climate leader” jurisdictions, Britain is a serious contender for the top spot. Sure Germany got started earlier than Britain, with the so-called “Energiewende” going back to the 1990s; and upstart American states like California and New York each think that their own hair shirt energy restrictions should qualify them for the number one position. But Britain’s suite of policies in the aggregate is hard to top: mandatory Net Zero goals set by statute; madcap buildout of wind and solar electricity generation; shuttering of generation from coal and natural gas; refusal to permit drilling in the North Sea; complete...

HOUSTON/GEORGETOWN, May 30 (Reuters) - Guyana was already the world’s fastest growing economy before the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran drove up oil prices. Now, the tiny Caribbean nation of nearly 1 million people will reap an even bigger bonanza as the conflict reshapes global energy markets. The war that caused one of the largest energy disruptions in history highlights the growing importance of countries including Guyana that offer political stability and geographically unrestricted access to their estimated ​11 billion barrels of oil reserves. This growing windfall from crude brings pressure from business owners and locals on the government to use...

There's a major heatwave taking place across most of Europe this week. Here's visualization showing the "temperature anomalies" which have driven temperatures in many European capitals close to 100 degrees Fahrenheit (and in some cases over that). Europe is melting! The size, intensity, and longevity of this #heatwave is enormous. Peak temperatures will reach 45°C / 100-115°F this week in #France . You are looking at temperature anomalies in the cloud layer over the next 2 weeks, which peak at +20°C. #Europe is Earth’s fastest warming continent, and European heat extremes are increasing faster than models project they should, likely...

The Islamic Republic of Iran has announced that they have closed the Strait of Hormuz. The reality on the ground shows that ships continue to travel through the waterway unimpeded, with U.S. naval assets in the region confirming that the Strait is completely open.Despite the announced closure of the Strait of Hormuz by the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Navy (IRGC-N), vessel traffic appears to be continuing, with several vessels using both the Iranian and U.S. announced traffic separation schemes. pic.twitter.com/05fjVSSaYE— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) June 20, 2026🚨 JUST NOW: Iran caught LYING that they "closed" the Strait of Hormuz againCENTCOM: "Commercial ship...

I always liked Jay Leno; his jokes would make you groan but begrudgingly chuckle during his 21-year reign as Tonight Show host, which started in 1992 (with a brief break as Conan O’Brien took over for a bit, but that’s another story). Compared to the toxic bile spewed by today’s wastes of airtime like Jimmy Kimmel and the thankfully cancelled Stephen Colbert, however, he was a genius. That being said, I could have done without this latest bit from “Jay Leno’s Garage,” which I will describe shortly. But if you’re ever feeling down about the current news cycle or cynical...

949 Comments Joe Biden bragged about killing the oil industry during an appearance on ‘Jay Leno’s Garage.’ In January 2025, in one of his last acts as president, Joe Biden permanently banned offshore drilling across 625 million acres of US ocean. This is after Biden blocked oil drilling on 10 million acres in Alaska in 2023. Joe Biden also canceled the Keystone XL pipeline his first day in office. President Trump overturned Biden’s ban on Arctic drilling, but he is facing legal hurdles. Biden boasted about his unprecedented power grab and attack on domestic drilling as he flew down the...

So, how are gas prices where you are?Two weeks ago in my part of S.E. Tennessee: $4.49 - $4.69/gal Today? I filled up at $3.29/gal as I'm going to my good friend Lazamataz's house in Georgia, and we're going to take in an Atlanta Braves v. San Francisco Giants game tomorrow in a Corporoate Suite.

Data centers have become the chic new enemy among activists. Critics claim the centers are using inordinate amounts of electricity and water to power artificial intelligence, inspiring protesters to take to the streets and Democratic lawmakers to head to Albany to stymie their development. However, some experts say the anti-data center push is more of a moral panic than an empirical one, often based on speculative and sometimes bunk projections. It seems that data centers are the boogeyman onto which larger fears about the impact of AI are being projected. “The estimates of future data-center development may be overestimated by...

Nuclear energy is about to play a huge role in powering America, but the new reactors that will do the heavy lifting are surprisingly small. Some are so small they are classified as microreactors—mobile powerhouses capable of being transported anywhere they’re needed to provide power, including the most remote sites on the planet. Spotlight on America traveled to the Idaho National Laboratory (INL), where these microreactors are about to be powered up and tested for the very first time inside a facility already famous for making history. Now, history is unfolding here once again. The newly renovated and reconfigured Dome...

If wasn't clear before it should be now: the Bush administration can't afford to attack Iran. With gas already at $4 a gallon and rising almost every day, Iran figuratively and literally has the United States over a barrel. As much as the administration is tempted, it is not about to test Iran's promise to "explode" the Middle East if it is attacked.

President Trump has reportedly told his aides to prepare for a prolonged US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most critical waterway for global energy flows. On Wednesday, the president told Axios he is maintaining the blockade until Iran agrees to a deal over its nuclear program. The pressure campaign carries mounting costs beyond Iran. While the near-total cessation of flows through the key waterway is cutting off hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for Tehran, it’s also choking key corners of the global market. By extending the blockade, Trump is wagering that Iran’s export-dependent economy will...

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis said on Monday that they would ban ships linked to Israel from the Red Sea after Israel renewed its military attacks on Iran, adding to concerns about global shipping and energy flows.

Midway through 2026, energy is the issue of the moment. The standoff in the Strait of Hormuz, soaring gas prices, the race to build AI data centers, and intensifying competition with China all point to the same question: Who will produce the energy that powers the modern world? That question is headed to the US Supreme Court. In a few months, the justices will hear arguments in one of the most consequential energy cases in decades, Suncor v. Boulder County. It’s one of dozens of lawsuits brought by progressive state and local governments seeking to make oil and gas companies...

Felt cute this morning hit the modeling software, ESRI, and thought why not solve Corpus Christi and Austin water supply issues forever for under $7 billion and a Capex return of 24 months in it's base config. The Japanese built past tense ABWR reactors in 39 months from ground breaking till first critical. Here is my summary report to the Texas Water Dev Board. Should I present it next time I am standing in their office in Austin. ## EXECUTIVE BRIEFING & PROJECT PROPOSAL To: The Board of Directors, Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) Project Title: The Texas Multi-Energy Hydronic...

The Supreme Court on Monday overturned a lower court's ruling, which will allow gas trade associations to continue their legal challenges against Biden-era restrictions on consumer furnaces powered by natural gas. The efficiency rules finalized during the Biden administration would make non-condensing furnaces, which account for approximately 55% of natural gas furnaces on the market, illegal in 2028, according to the American Gas Association, a trade organization. The rules, they said, would drive up home heating costs. “Their removal from the market would saddle families with costly renovations or eliminate gas as a home heating option all together,” the industry...

The Trump administration on Friday auctioned off rights to drill in a pristine wildlife refuge in Alaska, but the lease sale attracted only two bidders on a few tracts of land. Of the about 60 tracts of land opened up for leasing by the Trump administration, only five received bids.

Officials in Northern Colorado are celebrating a new project to improve energy reliability and availability in their communities ... Platte River Power Authority CEO Jason Frisbie says the project is a major step toward reducing its carbon footprint ... The facility will strengthen the county's electric system by storing energy for later distribution during periods of high demand.

“You need Chevron, I need Chevron.” That’s the message from Democratic gubernatorial frontrunner Xavier Becerra, who’s making waves by breaking with the left on one of California’s most ambitious climate policies — as he refuses to fully back the state’s plan to phase out new gas-powered vehicle sales by 2035. The former Health and Human Services secretary, who leads polling ahead of the June 2 primary to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom, stopped short of endorsing the state’s target to ban new gas and hybrid vehicle purchases starting in 2035. “California should transition from gas-powered vehicles when it makes sense —...