Advanced BioFuels USA

by Jeff Brady (NPR) … After the oil supply crisis in the 1970s, the U.S. banned crude oil exports for 40 years. A fracking-fueled boom ended production worries and the ban was lifted six years ago in a budget bill. The timing was ironic.

“The ban was lifted in December 2015, actually while many of us were in Paris at the 2015 climate talks,” says Kassie Siegel, senior counsel at the Center for Biological Diversity.

If the U.S. stopped exporting fossil fuels now, says Siegel, they might never get drilled or mined in the first place. She wants President Biden to bring back the export ban.

“The president can declare a national emergency under the National Emergencies Act and then reinstate the crude oil export ban on a year-by-year basis,” says Siegel.

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm recently suggested that possibility, though more because of high oil prices than climate concerns.

…

A new ban likely would mobilize the same powerful petroleum industry interests that worked to get the ban lifted in 2015.

“Lifting the export ban has been a real driver in enhancing our energy security, our economic strength, and continuing our energy leadership around the world,” says Frank Macchiarola, senior vice president at the American Petroleum Institute.

Last year, oil shipped to places like China and India brought in about $50 billion and helped reduce the U.S. trade deficit for the first time since records began in 1974.

One French company rejected U.S. gas because of its high climate emissions

Also big business these days is U.S. natural gas exports, about half of which is sent by pipeline to Mexico and Canada. But the fastest growth has been in liquified natural gas (LNG) that’s transported on ships. Asian countries, such as South Korea, China and India, are among the biggest customers.

…

Still, turning natural gas into a liquid requires a lot of energy. It has to be super-cooled to minus 260 degrees. In some cases, an environmental group study shows liquefied natural gas is barely better than coal when it comes to climate-warming emissions. And groups like the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) argue there’s a cleaner option: renewable energy.

“The U.S. can help countries that are still moving to expand electricity — expand energy services — to skip that transition and move straight towards that clean energy future that the U.S. itself is working to achieve,” says Amanda Levin, senior policy analyst at NRDC.

The International Energy Agency says to meet climate goals countries must stop planning for new fossil fuel projects that add harmful emissions. Levin wants federal regulators that approve gas export terminals to apply a climate test, and reject projects that are not consistent with Paris agreement goals.

…

Coal is booming… in Australia  READ MORE

Big Oil is crushing it as oil prices boom (CNN)

Even as Biden Pushes Clean Energy, He Seeks More Oil Production (New York Times)

Excerpt from CNN: But as good as financial results are for the oil companies, the industry finds itself under renewed attack for their role in causing climate change. The CEOs of both companies were under fire during testimony on Capitol Hill on Thursday.