Free Republic

Former National Security Council official and Russia expert Fiona Hill on Thursday testified that she heard Russian President Vladimir Putin at a 2011 conference describe American fracking as a "great threat" to Russia, a position he has emphasized ever since. The recollection came out at a point in the impeachment hearing when Rep. Mike Conaway of Texas was asking Hill about Putin's propaganda efforts in the United States, at the center of which is the television channel RT, which pushes anti-fracking messaging. Hill agreed that Russia saw the growth of U.S. fracking as a threat given that it undermines Russia's...

Billionaire Tom Steyer took a jab at former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) for failing to make climate change their number one legislative priority. He argued that he is the only one who has a record on this hot topic issue. "I'm the only person on this stage who will say climate [change] is the number one priority for me. Vice President Biden won't say it. Sen. Warren won't say it. It's a state of emergency and I would declare a state of emergency on day one," Steyer said. "I would use the emergency powers of...

Paris - Oil, gas and coal output already planned or in the pipeline will overwhelm efforts to cap global warming at levels consistent with a liveable planet, the UN and leading research groups warned Wednesday. The world is on track to produce 50 percent more fossil fuels than could be burned without increasing Earth's surface temperature by more than two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, they said in a major report. "Over-investment" in coal, oil and gas supply locks in infrastructure that clashes head-on with the need to slash greenhouse gas emissions in the coming decades, the researchers cautioned. "We...

As the impeachment inquiry hogs the spotlight in Washington, another drama in which Ukraine has a role is playing out more quietly -- and causing concern in Kyiv, which is watching warily as Russia brings its Nord Stream 2 pipeline closer to completion. Members of the U.S. Congress appear unified on the need to stop Russian President Vladimir Putin's $11 billion project to deliver natural gas to Europe via a new pipeline beneath the Baltic Sea. Bills that would impose sanctions on companies involved in Nord Stream 2 sailed through committees in the House of Representatives and the Senate last...

Now in fourth place among the Democrats vying for the Party's 2020 presidential nomination, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders hopes his $16 trillion plan to mitigate global warming will revive his flagging campaign. The gist of his plan is to expropriate private sector energy companies and use the ill-gotten gains to foster a government-owned alternative energy "ministry." The target is to have 100% of the United States energy needs met from wind, solar, hydropower or geothermal energy by the year 2030. Sanders rebuffed claims that the notorious inefficiency and ineffectiveness of government would undermine his plan, pointing out that "the expected...

The oil giant released a valuation target ranging from $1.6 trillion to $1.7 trillion. The figures fall short of the $2 trillion target Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has been fixed on for more than two years. The difference in value illustrates the operational, geopolitical and governance risks that investors face betting on the offering, writes Ben Dummett. The IPO still has potential to be the world's biggest by surpassing the $25 billion Alibaba raised in 2014. But the stock listing is beginning to reveal a set of dueling interests for Saudi Arabia. Saudi leadership wants the stock offering...

California said on Monday it will halt all purchases of new vehicles for state government fleets from GM, Toyota and Fiat Chrysler and other automakers backing President Donald Trump in a battle to strip the state of authority to regulate tailpipe emissions. Between 2016 and 2018, California purchased $58.6 million in vehicles from General Motors Corp, $55.8 million from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles $10.6 million from Toyota Motor Corp and $9 million from Nissan Motor Co. Last month, GM, Toyota, Fiat Chrysler and members of the Global Automakers trade association backed the Trump administration's effort to bar California from setting tailpipe...

[Catholic Caucus] After US bishops debate downplaying abortion, Bp. Strickland leads rosary outside BALTIMORE, Maryland, November 14, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) — Outside the hotel where the U.S. bishops convened for their annual fall meeting, Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler, Texas led a group of more than two dozen pro-life Catholics in praying the rosary. As a cold, damp wind blew off the harbor just a few steps away, Bishop Strickland knelt on the brick pavement, remaining on his knees the entire time as he sought God’s intervention to renew the Church.  With his rosary in hand, Bishop Joseph Coffey of...

Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer is preparing to spend hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars on a plan that would fast-track the elimination of nearly every gas-powered vehicle in the country. The senate’s top Democrat wants to spend a massive amount of money enticing Americans to exchange their gas-guzzling vehicles for an electric car. Schumer’s proposal, which he announced in a New York Times editorial Thursday, shows Democrats are lurching leftward on the issue. “That’s why I am announcing a new proposal designed to rapidly phase out gas-powered vehicles and replace them with zero-emission, or ‘clean,’ vehicles like electric cars,” Schumer...

The International Maritime Organization's 2016 decision to ratchet down sulfur content in shipping fuels could result in global fuel shortages. Sunday, October 20, 2019 Image Credit: Flickr-Paulo O | CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/) Ross Marchand Ross Marchand Politics gasoline Fossil Fuels Environmentalism Fuel Tax United Nations Regulation With gasoline prices in California eclipsing $4/gallon, Americans have taken to nervously glancing at their gas gauges. Oil prices appear to only be going in one direction (up), with dramatic disruptions such as a drone attack on Saudi refineries disrupting fuel supplies. But things may soon get far worse if the International Maritime...

Supreme Leader of Iran backs Gas price hike as protests spread By: Hassan.Mahmoudi Earlier this week Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said that Iran is experiencing its most difficult times since the 1979 Revolution. Later, without prior warning, the state-run National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Company announced an immediate 50% increase in the country's gas price early Friday. The heads of three key branches — government, parliament, and judiciary decided this energy policy as a signal of unity. “All of these games carry one message: The treasury is empty and the only way they have to fill it is to take...

The sins of former President Obama are just now beginning to surface. We know that Obama targeted George Papadopoulos first to stop the construction of Israel’s natural gas pipeline to Europe in favor of Iran’s pipeline. Then Obama targeted Papadopoulos a second time to prevent candidate Trump from being President! The pieces are all starting to fall together and Obama and his gang can’t make it stop. The most corrupt President in US history, Barack H. Obama, will soon be known as the biggest crook to enter the Oval Office. One individual who was targeted by Obama will be the...

Three decades, massive subsidies and yet intermittent wind power’s contribution to world energy needs remains little more than a rounding error. Electricity that can’t be delivered as and when it’s needed has no commercial value; massive subsidies are the only ‘value’ that attracts investors to wind and solar. Cut the subsidies and wind and solar investment would evaporate, overnight. As Gail Tverberg explains below, chaotically delivered wind and solar have never worked in the past. So, there’s no reason to expect that they’ll ever work in future. In a sane and rational world, we’d call it a ‘failed experiment’, clean...

TEHRAN, IRAN — Iran's government abruptly raised gasoline prices and imposed strict rations early Friday prompting large protests in major cities across the country with angry crowds calling for the ouster of President Hassan Rouhan. The price of fuel has been increased by up to 300 percent in some locations exacerbating the fears of protesters already struggling under extreme economic pressure as its economy worsens under U.S. sanctions.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and a utility that provides gas to New York City and Long Island have been locked in a standoff since May, when New York regulators blocked the construction of a $1 billion natural gas pipeline that would have run from Pennsylvania to New Jersey and New York. The utility, National Grid, says the pipeline is crucial to meeting the rising energy demand in the region and has imposed a moratorium, refusing to activate gas hookups for both new and returning customers. On Tuesday, the fight took a sharp turn after Mr. Cuomo threatened to revoke National...

Trump was particularly agitated that the rest of the world, particularly developing countries such as China and India, had corralled Washington into the Paris Accord on climate change and put the onus on the US to clean up the planet while themsel... (This story originally appeared in The Times of India https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/donald-trump-raises-stink-claiming-garbage-from-india-reaches-los-angeles/articleshow/72043638.cms on Nov 13, 2019) WASHINGTON: As if its own woes with air pollution is not enough of a headache, New Delhi has to deal with another pointless stink bomb: US President Donald Trump claimed on Tuesday that garbage from India is floating all the way to Los Angeles....

Without a doubt, President Trump's pro-growth policies have resulted in a booming economy with unemployment rates at historic lows. This extraordinary era of job creation has been made possible in part thanks to the Trump Administration's laser focus on slashing regulations for energy producers and long overdue reductions to the burdensome tax code. However, to keep the economy flourishing, the D.C. swamp needs more draining, and the first target should be to eliminate an unfair tax credit that only still exists thanks to crony capitalism and renewable energy lobbyists. Temporary tax incentives can encourage innovation but must include mandates requiring...

In 2017, global electricity consumption increased 2.5 percent to reahch 25,721 Twh. When it comes to consumption, China uses the most of any country at 25.9 percent, followed by the United States with 17.5 percent. On a per capita basis, the situation is different, however. According to the IEA Atlas of Energy, electricity consumption in Iceland was 54.4 megwatt hours per capita in 2017, the highest level of any country. That's primarily due to abundant natural resources that make electricity production affordable along with energy-intensive industries. The harsh and dark Icelandic climate also contributes to heavy demand for electricity. The...

Wall Street investors, U.S. farmers and Chinese officials will be among those listening closely to President Trump’s speech at the Economic Club of New York on Tuesday for signs of whether he intends to make concessions to Chinese demands for a rollback of tariffs. The White House sent mixed signals about China’s announcement last week that the two countries had agreed to an easing of tariffs in their 16-month-old trade war, but Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Monday that the talks are creating reason for optimism. “We’ve made real progress,” Mr. Pompeo told WCSC-TV in South Carolina. “I hope...

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani traveled to the city of Yazd on Sunday to deliver a speech about Iran’s economy, the oil sector and to express sympathy with earthquake victims. He also revealed massive allegations of corruption. In a rare rebuke, the president attacked the oil minister and demanded to know where $700 million in funds have gone, and slammed the judiciary and the Central Bank over a separate $2 billion corruption case. Rouhani began his speech with good news, arguing that since April, the economy of Iran has stabilized, despite difficult pressures from abroad – a reference to the US...