There’s several logical steps the Biden administration SHOULD be taking to end Putin’s current power grab in Russia. Unfortunately though, when President Biden took office 14 months ago, he ended what President Trump had worked so hard to gain: America’s energy independence. Now, thanks to Biden’s self-sabotaging decisions, Putin has taken advantage of the West’s oil weaknesses as he tramples over Ukraine. So, is it possible to turn America’s oil, gas, and fossil fuel industries back around? Daniel Turner, Founder & Executive Director of Power The Future, joins Glenn to discuss…
Transcript
Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors
GLENN: All righty then. But we want to bring in Daniel Turner. He's the Founder and executive director of Power the Future. And we will talk about the things that maybe we should be doing right now.
Daniel, welcome to the program.
DANIEL: Oh, it's great to be on with you, Glenn. Thanks for having me.
GLENN: You're welcome.
I don't know if you saw Marc Andreessen's tweet yesterday. But he said, we should be building 1,000 nuclear plants all the way around the world. Starting today.
We're not going to do it.
But there's a lot of logical things we should be doing today.
One of them is get off our dependence of Russian oil.
DANIEL: Yeah. Absolutely. A lot of the problems we're experiencing right now, have begun 14 months ago, with the Biden administration.
And I'm not pinning the Ukraine invasion on him. But I am saying, we have been tinkering. This administration has been really punishing, the -- the -- America's energy industry. Specifically, the fossil fuel industry.
For months and months. And when oil hits $70 a barrel. And $80 a barrel. The White House is silent. Well, now it's at 100.
And Joe Biden is saying, he wants to do something. So it's a little too late.
Energy is one of those issues, that people don't want to pay attention to. Until it starts to hit the purse.
Right?
Yeah. Exactly. But we need serious energy policy, and not Greta Thunberg, not John Kerry. Right?
We need serious energy policy, because it is national security as well.
GLENN: I just. I keep hearing him say. We're going to tap into the strategic oil reserve.
Hang on just a second. We -- on one hand, people are talking about World War III.
And the biggest conflict possibly, since World War II.
I'll was kind of important, that's why we have the strategic oil reserve.
And so we're -- he's telling the west, we should release more from our strategic oil reserve, while we're facing this.
No. Open a freaking pipeline.
DANIEL: Yeah. Oil is so important to the world economy. That even this administration has not sanctioned Russian oil. Germany Italy today, bought more natural gas, than they did yesterday from Russia.
In fact, Putin has increased the amount of natural gas exports because he knows, he has Europe on -- on the hook.
And he's using that to his leverage.
And so look, we have to stop being Plato. There is this ideal world. We all need to live up to it.
And we all need to be better. But the reality is, our economy, our military. The world runs on fossil fuels right now.
And whether or not we want to change that as one conversation, but the reality is, punishing fossil fuels now, in the hopes of a better tomorrow.
Has made us weak now. And Vladimir Putin has taken advantage of that weakness.
GLENN: This is -- this is exactly what The Great Reset is about.
The ESG scores. Energy is the first thing.
DANIEL: Absolutely.
GLENN: And we are -- we are committing national suicide. And it's not just national. The entire West is committing suicide.
And I don't understand -- and is that -- is that -- is that hyperbole?
DANIEL: No. Not whatsoever. And look, when this administration began, and Joe Biden said, which I believe is a flat-out falsehood.
When he said the generals tell him, climate change is our biggest national security threat, I'm sorry. If anyone really said that to you in the military, that person should be fired today.
And any politician, Republican or Democrat. This is not a partisan issue. Many Republicans went to the Glasgow climate summit. To learn how to tackle climate change.
We can have a conversation about the environment. But if you generally believe in your heart of hearts, looking at the global stage, that climate change is the biggest threat, then you do not deserve elected office. You are a danger.
Because Russia is a threat. China is a threat. Iran is a threat. North Korea.
And these world regimes, unfortunately, as the prices of oil have gone through the roof. Have become richer. And what does Iran do when they have more money?
They launch attacks on Israel. And they launch attacks on the UAE. And they fund their nuclear bombs program.
And what does Russia do, when they have more money? They build their army, right?
So this fight against reality, that you can have a conversation about the environment, but there are real threats. And we need to put on our big boy pants, and face the real world we live in.
GLENN: Even if you -- if you believed that climate change was the existential threat. And the largest threat against all of humanity.
If you really, truly believed that, and you make the moves, to stop American oil, and everything else.
Does that explain why we are not sanctioning the Russian oil? We're increasing our imports of Russian oil.
And we seem to be making it easy for Iran, to flood the market, with their oil.
I don't understand this.
Why wouldn't you go to America, and just say, hey, it's temporary. But we're going to -- we need you right now, to relieve the pressure?
I don't understand it.
DANIEL: Yeah. You know, for the first time in nearly 40 years, America has been purchasing Iranian oil. Very quietly.
The administration clearly did not put out a press release. But you say, why is America buying any oil from -- from Russia? From Iran.
GLENN: Wait. Wait. Wait.
When did that happen?
I've not heard that.
DANIEL: Started in April of this year. And we've -- and we've purchased about a million barrels of oil, from Iran.
Now, there's going to be an argument. And they're going to say, I'm playing fast and loose with the nuance. Because we purchased a lot of oil with from the world. And we refine it, particularly in the gulf.
All right. We have the world's largest refining capabilities. Also something China is trying to compete with us on, but that's another conversation.
We are the world's largest refiner. So this crude that comes out of the ground. Has to get refined.
So we buy Russian. We buy Venezuelan. But we don't need to buy any oil. If we produce enough ourself. And we're not.
We're producing 2 million barrels fewer than we did, a few months ago, before Biden became president. The reason why we're producing so much fewer oil. Is because this administration has made it impossible to produce.
You mentioned the ESG movement. Every agency is looking at climate change. When it comes to permitting. Lands access. Permits in the Gulf of Mexico, on federal land.
Fracking moratoriums. Pipeline construction. So all these cumulative actions have made production of oil domestically hard. Of course, we have to get it from somewhere else. So why not Russia? Why not Iran? Why not Venezuela? Why not put a bullet to our head, because that's what we're doing by enriching our enemies?
GLENN: Let me ask you. When Obama said that he was going to stop the drilling. I think it was in the gulf.
The deep sea drilling. The concern was, that if you stop that, you're not getting a lease on those deep sea drills for another 20 years.
They're not coming back. And you just don't make them overnight.
With the damage that has been done, just to the economy, and to the oil and gas industry, are we doing permanent damage, or are these things just going into mothballs, and we can turn this around quickly?
DANIEL: We can turn it around. But I don't think quickly.
This is a very capital and labor intensive industry, and even if all the permitting is in place, and the government is a friend of the industry, which we want. Like we saw under President Trump.
It really took till the end of 2018, the beginning of '19, for the industry to produce as much as it was.
So it did take two solid years, of -- of believing that the government wasn't going to punish you.
You look at something like Keystone. That was ten years, and a billion dollars in the making. And then the rug was pulled out from under it, and all that money is lost.
So who is going to invest in the oil and gas industry right now, if you think the government can shut it down?
And that's one of my pet peeves, Glenn. And you can hear my voice getting angry.
GLENN: Oh, I know.
DANIEL: Jen Psaki will say, well, oil at $90 a barrel. You would think these rich fat cats will invest. It's not that they don't want to invest.
It's that they know, it's a risky investment. Because government is going to punish you. Deb Haaland, the interior secretary, is going to punish you.
The EPA administrator. Biden is talking about fed nominees, who look at banking issues through the lens of climate change.
So if you need a 50 million-dollar loan from the bank to finance this industry.
GLENN: I get it.
DANIEL: No.
Because the bank will not lend it to you. Because the Federal Reserve will raise your base points, and penalize you.
So, again, this administration is punishing the industry from every angle. Then they have the gall, to say, well, they better not raise prices.
Or take advantage of this. Like it's our fault.
When Elizabeth Warren blamed big meat. Remember that one?
GLENN: Yeah.
DANIEL: I mean, it's offensive.
GLENN: I -- I -- I will tell you, I -- I don't understand what's happening to us.
Unless the president and this administration, and those on the left. Have an agenda that is clearly not in step with the traditional American.
They -- I mean, this is -- this is self-inflicted wounds. And they're soon going to be mortal.
What do you -- what do you -- what are you thinking about the gas and oil prices and what's coming with this -- this war in -- in Ukraine.
DANIEL: Yeah. It's down a little bit today. Which is good news.
But I think overall, if this continues. And I don't think Putin is going to stop until he has everything he wants in the Ukraine. And maybe even more.
You could easily see gas at $150 a barrel. Like it was in 2008.
I mean, 125, by the end of March. Is very feasible. And that means six and 7-dollar-gallon gas.
But you know. Your audience knows. There are millions. Literally millions of products, that are made from -- from fossil fuels.
And so when the price of fertilizer goes up. When the price of pesticides go up.
Everything goes up in price. So when you go to the store, and you buy your chop meat. And it's expensive. It's the cow. The cow's diet. The transportation. The butcher, the slaughter house, the packaging, the plastic.
All of that stuff gets added on to your cost. You're ultimately, the one going to suffer.
And that's the frustration. This administration, before Putin even launched his first incursion. This administration was willing to let the American people suffer because they are so eager for this green revolution. These renewables. That they had to punish fossil fuels. They wanted fossil fuels to be the bad guys.
So that maybe you would go to the government and say, please, please, Mr. Biden. Please give us a Green New Deal. Please give us a Build Back Better.
We can't afford this anymore. And that's the really sad thing.
They were willing to punish the American people, for their agenda. And that's not just un-American. Unpatriotic. Quite frankly, it's immoral, and it's evil.
GLENN: Yeah. I agree with you.
Daniel, thank you so much. The Founder and executive director of Power the Future.
Daniel Turner. God bless. We'll talk to you again.
