IN POLITICS, THINGS ARE NEVER WHAT THEY APPEAR TO BE ... OFFERING AN ALTERNATIVE REALITY TO THE LIBERAL-DOMINATED MEDIA
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Tuesday, May 31, 2022
In Some Cities Gas Costs More Than The Federal Minimum Wage, As Inflation Harms Most Working Americans
America Today: Liberals Did It
So it's not Putin anymore: Joe Biden has a new plan to fight inflation with...more inflation
Monday, May 30, 2022
I Wish Our Government Understood Memorial Day
Memorial Day: Connecting the Present with the Past
The truth about the Russia Hoax is oozing out at the Sussmann trial
Carl Cameron Embodies The Leftist Drive To Censorship
Wednesday, May 25, 2022
Biden's appalling response to the tragedy in Texas
Has there ever been a more cruel, tone-deaf president?
Tuesday, May 24, 2022
Biden's shocking betrayal of veterans in the name of managing his border fiasco
Will the Supreme Court leaker ever face any consequences?
Angry migrants protest for their 'right' to be in the US illegally
Monday, May 23, 2022
Want to Visit America? Forget Getting a Visa. Just Walk Across the Border.
Saturday, May 21, 2022
Why the brave archbishop made his move on Nancy Pelosi now
The uncloaked mask exposes...Hillary
Friday, May 20, 2022
Op-Ed: It Will Only Take a Few Senate Democrats to Expose the Biden Administration as a Feeble Sham
First World Countries Don't Have Baby Formula Shortages
Biden's America Rots from the Head Down
Thursday, May 19, 2022
Biden's Approval Rating with Hispanics Plummets to Pitiful New Low, Worse Than Any Demographic
Public schools are feeling the fallout from the COVID lockdowns
Wicked witch of the woke Nina Jankowicz resigns as Disinformation Governance Board is put on 'pause'
Wednesday, May 18, 2022
Biden Claus: US lifts sanctions on Putin's strongest allies
Biden Tries Controlling (Dis)Information
Tuesday, May 17, 2022
Hey Liberals: Let’s Talk about Biden’s Lies
When You Label Half of the Country Racist…
Monday, May 16, 2022
Protests outside a Supreme Court justice's home? AG Garland has nothing to say
Democrats Blame Inflation on 'Greed,' Instead of Their Own Failed Policies
Victor Davis Hanson’s Magnum Opus
Sunday, May 15, 2022
Republicans Have the Power to Fix the Government
Biden administration warns of new COVID wave… just in time for fall midterm elections
Saturday, May 14, 2022
Friday, May 13, 2022
There's a reason Democrats are touting the economic benefits of abortion
Here is a fine example why New York Times 'reporting' is not to be taken seriously
Thursday, May 12, 2022
BREAKING: US Producer Price Index - A Measurement of Inflation - Reaches 11% in April
The Triumphant Trifecta: Tucker, Trump, DeSantis
Pallets and pallets of baby formula for illegals, nothing on the shelves for Americans
Biden's Dark Summer: Power-Grid Operators Warn Electricity Shortage Coming Amid Green Energy Transition
Wednesday, May 11, 2022
The slimy hand of Soros emerges in abortion protest outrages
American Matrix: Biden's Disinformation Governance Board
The Ruling Elites Redefined Character in order to Elect Joe Biden
Slouching towards war with Russia: Biden's drift is getting dangerous
If We Cannot Secure Voting, We Will Perish
Trump and Musk: A Hard Row to Hoe
Tuesday, May 10, 2022
Monday, May 09, 2022
The Biden Misery Index
The Corrupt Liberal Media's Obsession with Trump Continues
Sunday, May 08, 2022
Biden's Disinformation Board Co-Chair Formerly Worked for George Soros
Cruelty of Biden's Economy: Newborns Going Hungry While Elders Are Forced to Leave Retirement
Saturday, May 07, 2022
Now announcing the Fauci's Follies Awards!
The real stakes of 2022
State Sen. Gene Yaw: Environmental groups pay for Pennsylvania’s economic destruction with Russia’s money
Critics of pro-energy policies love nothing more than to hold up campaign contributions from fossil fuel interests as evidence that the recipients’ support hinges solely on greed.
There’s often zero acknowledgment of the flipside of that argument: environmental lobbyists and political action committees (PACs) exist too, their money often comes from shadowy sources and their agenda aligns with geopolitical adversaries committed to the demise of western Democratic nations, the United States chief among them.
I support the United States and I am very proud of Pennsylvania’s position in energy production in this country. I like to think that is why people support me. Energy is the key to a viable and resilient economy. Does anyone really care about the environment when they don’t know where their next meal is coming from or whether they can afford to pay bills?
So yes, I’ve accepted donations from energy companies and political action committees. And yes, I agree that Pennsylvania’s abundance of fossil fuels is an economic asset that should be regulated with precision, not a dirty and shameful malignancy to be hacked off with little regard for the consequences. I’d believe those things with or without a single campaign contribution in my name.
Some of my colleagues who disagree with me accept donations from the green lobby and its associated PACs. I’m certain their support for the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) is rooted in their personal beliefs and the backing of their constituency – not a $1,500 contribution from the Natural Resources Defense Council or the Sierra Club or the League of Conservation Voters.
And certainly, it has nothing to do with weakening American gas and oil production to strengthen resource-rich countries like Russia or China, as was suggested to the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee back in 2018.
Nearly four years before Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a reporter from the Daily Signal testified environmental advocacy groups who ran successful anti-fracking campaigns in New York were bankrolled by a California-based funding incubator that took millions from the Russian government and Vladimir Putin.
Perhaps had those groups been less successful, Pennsylvania natural gas could be supplying the western European nations that want to dump Russian imports without creating an energy crisis. At least we’d be supplying New York and New England, but Putin’s money prevented that, too.
And I cannot erase the mental picture of certain so-called environmentalists cheering the demise of the New Fortress liquified natural gas (LNG) project in Bradford County when western Europe desperately needs our help offsetting the Russian stranglehold on the supply of natural gas. Is that really something to be proud of?
Staking out what is stated to be moral high ground is a shortsighted tactic, but one that happens often on the progressive left. Take RGGI for example, a quarterly auction in which 11 states bid for credits to offset the carbon emissions generated by their power sector.
Pennsylvania, by executive fiat and without any legislative input, became the 12th state to join RGGI last week. The administration’s own estimates, released in January, suggest the program will generate more than $400 million in annual revenue for Pennsylvania, paid for by electricity consumers of all types.
This represents a de facto carbon tax on power generators and will leave thousands of workers unemployed. Independent analysts also believe it will raise energy costs by double digits for residents, including many on low and fixed incomes that already feel the squeeze of record-high inflation.
So when confronted with lacking justification for their position, either from an economic or environmental perspective, RGGI supporters fall back on the unscientific stance that we have a “moral obligation” to join. Anyone who disagrees is nothing more than a fossil fuel company shill with dollar signs in their eyes and a lump of coal beating in their chest.
There’s never any nuance. There’s never any recognition that air flows freely and indiscriminately across state lines. RGGI does nothing to stop emissions from power plants in Ohio or West Virginia from floating into Pennsylvania. It does, however, close plants, unemploy thousands and decimate communities across this state — and for what? Less than one percentage point in reduced carbon emissions.
It is sad to see us waste time chasing the non-existent benefits of RGGI while the Department of Environmental Protection estimates as many 200,000 orphaned gas wells — built more than 50 years ago — continue emitting methane, a greenhouse gas 34 times more destructive to our atmosphere than carbon dioxide, into the air we breathe every single day.
I care about our environment, and I support policies that offer creative and collaborative solutions to the problems we face — such as bills I co-sponsored to clean up streams, implement carbon capture and sequestration and cap orphan gas wells. These proposals engage industry to address climate concerns without levying unconstitutional taxes or eliminating jobs.
Like it or not, energy is intrinsically tied to the history, culture and prosperity of Pennsylvania. We cannot separate ourselves from this reality, no matter how many hatchets this administration throws at it.
Don’t be fooled by one-sided rhetoric that paints critics as cartoonishly greedy or conspiratorial ghouls. Seek out media that tells the whole story, not just the side they want to be heard. Remember that old adage about making assumptions. And never forget — energy builds the economy upon which we all rely!
State Sen. Gene Yaw is a Republican who was elected to represent the 23rd Senatorial District consisting of Bradford, Lycoming, Sullivan, Susquehanna and Union counties. He serves as chairman of the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee.