Is This the End of New Pipelines?

    We are seeing a major shift in the priorities of Americans. Americans are becoming less concerned with being a global leader in fossil fuel energy and becoming more concerned with becoming a leader of renewable energy. This has caused major strain on oil and gas companies due to the scrutiny they have been put under. The oil and gas companies have been forced to delay projects and spend millions of dollars in litigation to keep their projects alive. The argument against a lot of these projects is that we shouldn’t be expanding our oil and gas infrastructure but expanding on clean energy infrastructure. Increasing pressure from both democrats and left leaning conservatives has given power to environmental groups in the fight against continued expansion of oil and gas infrastructure. This has caused big hits in the number of jobs available and loss of job opportunity that would have been created if these projects were able to get up and running. Many states have also been jumping on board with the fight for greener energy which makes it increasingly difficult for these gas and oil companies to obtain permits necessary to begin their projects. These new policies are forcing established energy companies to rethink their outlook on the future of energy production. It’s becoming more and more apparent that oil and gas is beginning to fade, and greener energy is on the horizon.

COVID also isn’t helping these oil and gas companies financially justify taking on such large investments in infrastructure. The pandemic has caused a major drop in demand for oil and gas. Less people are driving now, and more people are staying home. This makes it more difficult to justify such huge investment commitments in the near future. With the hits these companies have faced in litigation from environmentalist movements and the state and federal governments, the pandemic only makes it that much tougher. 

Greener energy is a good thing for the environment. It may cause some strain on the economy at first because of the large initial costs necessary to begin making the switch. However, in the long run I believe that this shift will help keep our economy in front of the inevitable global shift to cleaner energy. As new technology develops, initial costs will fall and the idea of shifting into this new realm of energy will begin to seem more attainable. I look now and I can’t imagine a world with new gas engines and gas burning furnaces. It will take time and a huge shift in the industry to make this fantasy a reality. Adjusting to cleaner energy will help keep our planet in a condition to continue prosper and growth for the economy.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/08/climate/dakota-access-keystone-atlantic-pipelines.html