Energy Tomorrow Blog
Affordable Natural Gas & U.S. Emissions Reductions
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Sam Winstel
Posted January 15, 2020
Over the past decade, coal-to-natural gas switching in power generation has driven domestic emissions reductions, positioning America at the leading edge of climate and air quality progress. And last year, U.S. greenhouse gas emissions fell by 2.1% – almost entirely due to a decline in coal consumption, according to new analysis from the Rhodium Group.
The increase of cleaner-burning natural gas in electricity production accounts for much of this positive development, as natural gas emits about half the carbon compared to coal combustion. In 2019, coal-fired power generation fell by an estimated 18%, the largest year-on-year decline on record, and related emissions dropped by 190 million metric tons – equivalent to the amount of carbon sequestered by nearly 250 million acres of U.S. forests in one year.
SOAE 2020: This is Moon Township
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Sam Winstel
Posted January 14, 2020
America’s natural gas and oil revolution has benefitted cities across the nation by fueling manufacturing, boosting agriculture and growing local economies. Case in point: Moon Township – located northwest of Pittsburgh – which was highlighted in API’s annual State of American Energy report for its thriving small business community.
Energy development in the Marcellus Shale has restored the economy of Western Pennsylvania, creating good-paying jobs that helped residents weather the recession during the first decade of the 21st century.
SOAE 2020: This is Virginia Beach
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Sam Winstel
Posted January 10, 2020
The economic benefits of the nation’s energy revolution – empowering broad sector growth and opportunity – are tangible all across the United States, and are illustrated in API’s new annual report, “This is Energy Progress.”
Virginia’s Hampton Roads region is just one example, where households, businesses and military installations are helped by abundant domestic natural gas and oil. While Virginia isn’t a top producing state, plentiful and low-cost energy resources empower the shipping and tourism economy and strengthen the armed forces that are so visible locally.
NEPA Reform Provides Foundation for Energy Progress
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Sam Winstel
Posted January 9, 2020
Today, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) proposed reforms to regulations that implement the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which stand to improve the permitting and approval processes for energy and other infrastructure projects across the U.S. By streamlining federal regulations, businesses and government agencies can develop new infrastructure that generates good-paying jobs, spurs economic growth and protects the environment.
America’s robust, state-of-the-art energy infrastructure allows natural gas and oil producers to safely and seamlessly deliver affordable fuels to consumers. The nation’s complex and extensive network of pipelines, roads, railways, ports and export terminals is fundamental to our energy and environmental progress. Expanding and upgrading this system ensures that abundant, homegrown energy will continue to reach American households, businesses and trading partners – but unnecessary, expensive and time-consuming regulations have delayed this critical build-out.
State of American Energy 2020
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Sam Winstel
Posted January 8, 2020
The U.S. is the global leader in energy production, carbon emissions reductions and environmental performance. In 2020, the State of American Energy is one of leadership in natural gas and oil development and ongoing progress toward global climate solutions.
For decades, U.S. energy policy has focused on reducing our dependence on foreign natural gas and oil – the outlook was often defined by scarcity, rather than abundance. Each of our last seven presidents understood that clean, affordable and reliable American energy is essential to both economic growth and national security. And today, our nation has achieved this hard-fought, bipartisan goal.
USMCA Advances America’s Energy Security
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Sam Winstel
Posted December 19, 2019
Last week, House Democrats and the Trump administration announced a bipartisan deal on the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), concluding the year-long debate and setting the stage for congressional approval. Today, it heads to the House floor, bringing the agreement one step closer to reality.
From an energy perspective, the case for finalizing USMCA is strong, and as we’ve said, its approval is essential to economic progress and energy security. Because North America’s energy markets are interdependent and multi-directional, integration will result in more affordable energy for consumers in all three countries.
Celebrating STEM Education, Empowering Solution Seekers
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Sam Winstel
Posted November 6, 2019
To mark National STEM Day this Friday, API and a group of partners are launching the STEM Careers Coalition that focuses on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in the K-12 grades, with an emphasis on equity and access.
API, Discovery Education, Chevron, Boeing, Best Buy, The Manufacturing Institute, and Microsoft are committed to advancing the future of education through 2025 and beyond. The goal is to improve the learning experience for 10 million students in 5,000 schools nationwide – through direct investments in classrooms, connecting industry employees and students and creating an easily accessible career portal. Ultimately, the coalition will work to bridge the STEM workforce skills gap – which may leave 2.4 million positions unfilled between 2018-2028, according to the Manufacturing Institute.
Recognizing the Workforce this National Energy Awareness Month
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Sam Winstel
Posted October 15, 2019
Since 1991, October has served as National Energy Awareness Month, recognizing the importance of sustainable resource management and the dedication of the people who enable our energy economy. More recently, this also has highlighted the remarkable role of American resource abundance in strengthening the domestic economy and reducing our dependence on imported energy.
Given that the U.S. is the world’s leading natural gas and oil producer, and is expected to become a net exporter of total energy this year, the story of National Energy Awareness Month is now one of energy security and economic progress – powered, in large part, by innovation and an industrious and tech-savvy workforce.
Using Energy Revenues, New Mexico Offers Free In-State College
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Sam Winstel
Posted October 7, 2019
The U.S. energy revolution is at work for New Mexico and the state’s higher education system.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham made national headlines last month by announcing free tuition at public universities for all residents, regardless of family income. That’s all 29 of the state’s two- and four-year institutions beginning next fall, benefiting an estimated 55,000 New Mexico students.
Thanks to the state’s natural gas and oil development.
U.S. Natural Gas – Meeting the Energy Poverty Challenge
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Sam Winstel
Posted September 25, 2019
Energy is essential to a modern standard of living, and as the leading energy sources, natural gas and oil are foundational to almost everything we do – lighting our homes, heating our hospitals and powering our workplaces.
The U.S. is the world’s leading natural gas and oil producer, which is critically important given new projections that global energy consumption will increase nearly 50% by 2050. Though reliable access to energy often is taken for granted in this country, people in other parts of the world struggle to obtain the energy needed for sustainable development and to empower basic human progress.
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), nearly one in eight people around the world lives without electricity, and 2.7 billion people currently are without access to clean cooking facilities. Without power for heating, lighting and advanced technologies, human potential is severely limited. And in the absence of cleaner fuels, people must use coal, kerosene, biomass and other energy sources to prepare food, which contributes to harmful and unnecessary indoor air pollution.