Violet: This country has no plan for renewable energy or anything else

Mar 31, 2023

Gov. Dan McKee signed into law legislation to increase renewable energy production and supply by requiring that 100 percent of R.I.'s electricity be offset by renewable production by 2033. In May 2023 he announced a plan to end sale of new gas-powered vehicles in R.I. by 2035 in order to rein in carbon pollution by slashing tailpipe emissions. His actions mirror those of President Joe Biden who set the goal of 100 percent clean power by 2035. As the former attorney for the R.I. Conservation Law Foundation, I found it nice to hear but like everything else, particularly at the federal level, it is just political rhetoric. It is not the governor's fault, per se. He won't achieve any of these laudable targets because Congress and the Executive Branch don't have a plan or a clue on how to achieve these goals in light of other contingencies which militate against their achievement. Whether it is energy policy, regulation of social media or of artificial intelligence, Congress is always a day late and a dollar short.

Since the Industrial Revolution, the United States has excelled in manufacturing which has been the bulwark of the U.S. dollar. In his upcoming book, "On My Watch, Tyrants and Patriots," former ambassador and secretary of the Navy, William Middendorf II correctly notes that about 20 years ago the United States began to forfeit its lead in manufacturing to China. He cites as an example the case of a friend who makes water rollers that use hundreds of ball bearings which cost him $4-6 dollars each in the United States but which can be bought in China for 25 cents. The back-up to lost manufacturing is this country's substantial natural resources which we could sell to the world to back up the dollar. A little more than two years ago, he argues, the United States was energy independent and positioned to drop the price of oil to 30-40 dollars a barrel which would have bankrupted Russia's whose cost of production was higher. By cutting U.S. energy production, in effect we funded the Russian war against Ukraine while also hamstringing energy production here and endangering the dollar.

Since the technology here has not caught up to mitigate global warming, the country is taking another economic hit by curbing oil production while being too late to enter the renewable energy leadership.

The European Union's vote to ban the sale of gasoline and diesel cars by 2035 as we have done in R.I. will make Europe (and us) more dependent on China which controls the market of batteries for electric cars. China has outpaced the U.S. in its own mining as well as buying up rights to lithium reserves in Africa and Latin America. The United States is caught flatfooted because in the name of environmental activism the U.S. hasn't a cogent plan of phase in/ phase out. This country has neither the bird in the hand nor the one in the bush.

This is the equivalent of walking but not being able to chew gum at the same time. While D.C. partisans bicker, they are harming this country's future because of a lack of planning for energy leadership. They need to stuff the rhetoric and figure this out before we are at China's mercy.

Violet is an attorney and former state attorney general.

Scientific American? Of course that Dem rag would publish that, right next to their covid section. Ukraine is depending on coal, and will be for years to come.

Thank you for providing the clearest possible illustration of the old adage "you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink." You clearly know nothing about Ukrainian energy or economic policy, yet when provided with facts that contradict your misperceptions and given an opportunity to learn, you not only actively refuse to learn, you double down on your misperceptions.

I'm done here - life is too short to waste my time trying to educate people who wilfully wish to remain ignorant.

The future is electric. Don't be a dinosaur.

And where does electricity come from? Do you progressives ever think anything through?

Unless ALL nations + (CHINA) work together global warming will never be resolved.

India, Russia, Ukraine....none of them care about global warming

In 25 words or less, what do you know about Ukrainian energy policy?

We do know Ukraine has very large lithium deposits and is the gateway for Russian energy into Europe.

Well George, Ukraine get's most of it's energy from coal and during a war I'm sure they aren't thinking of "clean energy"

Simple, "obvious" answers are so often completely wrong, as is the one from RedWave. Even before the Russian invasion, Ukraine did not get the majority of its energy from coal, and now with most of the coal-mining region either under enemy control or in a combat zone, that industry has declined even further. And, in fact, renewable energy sources are *exactly* what Ukrainians are thinking about in order to increase their energy independence. I recommend you read this Scientific American piece on that very trend: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/ukrainians-shift-to-renewable-power-for-energy-security-amid-war/

So even a country at war - maybe even *especially* a country at war - recognizes energy independence via renewables as a critical strategic goal.

Totally agree Ms. Violet, electric vehicles are the biggest rip off of this century. What will happen when all those batteries need to be replaced?

Thanks Joe Biben.

Embarrassed it took me this long to figure it out, but this is apparently a parody account, making fun of conservatives. I tip my hat, Lewis. Well done.

Guy, why do conservatives scare you so? Because they speak truth to power? 40 years ago, the climate "scientist" were claiming the next ice age should of been happening by now.

Drill baby drill!

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