In a report published June 11 by oil behemoth BP PLC, American oil consumption surged to a record 20.5 million barrels a day. We now produce 18 percent of the world’s oil and are increasing production of natural gas, as well. BP states this was the largest increase in production by any one country ever recorded. Saudi Arabia’s 12 percent and Russia’s 10 percent pale in comparison.
Natural gas is being allowed to escape on many remote well sites in West Texas as the infrastructure doesn’t yet exist to harness it. When this is developed and export facilities are finished, natural gas will become a huge export commodity.
Even China is trying to go to more natural gas as the high sulfur-mercury-arsenic laden coal they’ve been using to fuel their fast-growing energy sector is choking their own country.
What’s little known is Washington, Oregon and California get dusted through the jet streams by those very toxic chemicals traceable to the coal China uses.
It would be a net positive for the world if Trump were to levy an environmental tariff on every product and packaging import China and others ship to us until “scrubbers” on their energy production equal our own.
