If it is possible to kill the layer of the golden egg, that is low natural gas prices, you can count on the Obama administration to find a way.
Natural gas prices are at record lows because of soaring production from areas such as the Marcellus Shale region of Pennsylvania. This is a boon for consumers and for energy-intensive industries whose lower costs offer hope to a struggling economy.
Enter President Obama April 13 to issue an executive order establishing an Interagency Working Group to Support the Safe and Responsible Development of Unconventional Domestic Natural Gas Resources.
The length of the name is enough to alert any supporter of a vibrant industry to trouble. Obama’s creation has a moniker of 16 words and not a single one resembles “economic”. Never mind “profitable”.
The EPA has been trying to insinuate itself into the regulation of natural gas development in Pennsylvania even though the state has a robust regulatory program of its own. Now EPA will have at least a dozen other agencies to help it impede the production of this form of energy.
The federal government has slowed oil drilling, has stymied the construction of an oil pipeline and is well along in killing coal-fired electricity generation.
We can only speculate on the motives of the federal government, but it must be frustrating for Obama to witness a fossil-based energy industry thrive through the ingenuity of free enterprise and the competence of private companies.
We are left to wonder: Will the President go away with the November election? Or will he transform the U.S. into a third-world country of Don Quixotes chasing windmills for lighting and hot water?
(Excerpt) Read more at energytribune.com ...
