New Platforms For Oil Exports Would Benefit The Economy And Environment

New Platforms For Oil Exports Would Benefit The Economy And Environment

Share to Linkedin The fight against climate change and the use of fossil fuels continues on multiple fronts, but not every effort on this front will benefit the environment. With the most rational and cost-effective tool—a carbon tax—seemingly impossible to get through Congress, politicians and activists have pursued other pieces of climate-friendly legislation as well as lawsuits, federal regulations, and various actions at the state and local level intended to tilt the nation's energy mix away from fossil fuels. Just in the last year Congress passed legislation to boost passenger rail and provide more charging stations for electric automobiles, while the SEC is contemplating a new rule that would require firms to report their carbon emissions as well as their financial exposure to long-term climate change. The EPA recently put forth a rule that would increase future fuel economy standards. However, some of the fights against fossil fuels in recent years—especially those having to do with transporting oil or natural gas—would do little to improve the environment, and would amount to Pyrrhic victories for environmentalists if they were to succeed. Regardless of fervent wishes to the contrary, fossil fuels will play an important role in providing energy for the ensuing