Help Us, Surrender, and Submit: DOE Secretary Granholm at CERA

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- March 21, 2022

“We are on a war footing—an emergency—and we have to responsibly increase short-term [oil and gas] supply…. And that means you producing more right now, where and if you can.” (Secretary Granholm, March 9, 2022)

“Believe me, it would take a fool to not see that this empress has no clothes.” (RLB, below)

I have been in the business of criticizing the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) ever since it was created in 1977. And I have never read a more fanciful and pitiful speech than this one. Yes, it is very well written (whoever the speechwriter was). But how do you square the circle; and how do you eat your cake and have it too?

We are in a climate crisis, right? It is an “existential threat,” states President Biden. It is “without exaggeration, about survival,” states John Kerry.

So why does the scripted, puppet Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm come begging Big Oil to rev up oil production, carbon dioxide emissions notwithstanding?

It’s all politics. But the hypocrisy of resetting the reset, however short-term it might be, is boundless. (And many on the Left remain quiet, although a lot of true believers are going into rehab or trying to deal with their raw anger.)

Believe me, it would take a fool to not see that this empress has no clothes.

Excerpts from the DOE Secretary’s speech of March 9, 2022, follow (subtitles added):

More Oil Please–We Appreciate It

President Biden announced yesterday that the U.S. will ban Russian oil imports…. Bravo to BP, Exxon, Shell and others in the private sector who are withdrawing from Russian operations. But there’s more to do….

We are on a war footing—an emergency—and we have to responsibly increase short-term [oil and gas] supply where we can right now to stabilize the market and to minimize harm to American families…. And that means you producing more right now, where and if you can….

So yes, right now, we need oil and gas production to rise to meet current demand….

For over a hundred years, the oil and gas industry has powered our nation and gotten us where we are today. We are eternally grateful for that….

Climate Emergency Too

And at the same time, the war in Ukraine isn’t the only thing sending shock waves through the energy sector. We’ve also got to reckon with the impact of climate change—and the clean energy transition that isn’t just coming; it’s here.

Don’t Fuss

You all know that – you’re wrestling with it yourselves: your investors are demanding climate action. And your customers are demanding climate action—seventy percent of voting Americans support the clean energy transition….

I get it—this is beyond hard…. But we can’t do it if we are fighting internal battles. Some people here (or at least lobbyists and Beltway politicians) seem to think this is the time to recycle old talking points.

Not Biden’s Fault

People are arguing that if a pipeline that wouldn’t have even been in operation by now were still under construction, the situation with today’s oil prices would somehow be different.

Or that President Biden’s policies have decreased production, when we are actually at record levels of natural gas and LNG, and will be at record levels of oil production by next year. When there are over 9,000 onshore drilling permits that are sitting unused. We all know that’s the same old DC BS.

Take Our Bribes!

Aren’t we ready to finally work together to confront this moment of crisis…and come out stronger on the other side?

I’m here to tell you that the Department of Energy, and the entire Biden administration, is ready to work with you to seize the opportunity of clean energy.

That means we have to deploy clean technologies as fast as possible—but we’re under no illusion that every American will get an EV or a heat pump tomorrow or next month or next year. 

It is a transition…and we’re pragmatic about what it means. We know it won’t happen overnight. And we’re serious about decarbonizing while providing reliable energy that doesn’t depend on foreign adversaries. That means we’ll walk and chew gum at the same time….

And we are here to work with anyone and everyone who’s serious about taking a leap toward the future…by diversifying your energy portfolio to add clean fuels and technologies, like many of you are starting to do or have been doing…by creating good-paying jobs for your talented workforce in the energy industry of the future…and by reaping the rewards of a clean energy market that will exceed $23 trillion by the end of the decade.

Maybe you’re excited about clean hydrogen.  Maybe it’s carbon capture and storage.  Maybe it’s offshore wind… geothermal… lithium from geothermal brines… sustainable aviation fuels… EV charging…you name it.

We’re ready to partner with the private sector through the $62 billion that Congress just gave us in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Most of that funding is going out through competitive grants…and we’re eager to receive your best and most innovative ideas.

I’m here to extend a hand of partnership…because we’ll only be able to meet these challenges of oil and gas supply and climate change by working together. 

Ukraine … Clean Energy?

For me, Putin’s actions and the resolve of the Ukrainian people give me even more determination to get this energy transition right….

And we want you to power this country for the next hundred years with zero-carbon technologies.

Good History?

It’s often hard to see history in the making. But we’re on the cusp of the most important transition human society has ever seen. I hope we’ll look back at 2022 as the year the world took giant steps to improve energy security and tackle climate change.

And to do that—to be on the right side of history—we need to work together. Let’s start now.