Even members of the Obama Administration have some harsh words for those involved in the “keep it in the ground” approach to America’s energy production.
While speaking at the Whitewater Preserve in California to commemorate three new national monuments: Sand to Snow, Mojave Trails and Castle Mountains, Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell said that while the United States is “waking up as a nation to the impact of climate change, and the impact of carbon on our environment” the nation remains dependent on fossil fuels to drive our economy.
“It’s going to take a very long time before we can wean ourselves from fossil fuels, so I think that to keep it in the ground is naïve, to say we could shift to 100 percent renewables is naïve.”
Eliminating the production of all fossil fuels simply isn’t feasible like some advocates have called for. In the United States our safety and emissions standards are much stricter than in production areas elsewhere throughout the world.
Faced with the choice between importing oil from the Middle East or utilizing American supply, the choice should be fairly simple for most Americans. The option to not produce whatsoever is no option at all. We must continue to craft our own energy future utilizing a strategy that pursues sensible American energy infrastructure.