Fracking

“If somebody wants to build a coal-fired power plant, they can. It’s just that it will bankrupt them,” Obama said, responding to a question about his cap-and-trade plan. He later added, “Under my plan … electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket.” This quote, especially the part about skyrocket cost has haunted The President since he said it in 2008 but he has had a reprieve with the development of fracking. The price of natural gas is half what it was in 2006 and coal fired plants are rapidly being replaced with natural gas plants. 150 plants have been closed since 2010. The price of electricity will not skyrocket but has in fact stabilized. The United States is now a net exporter of oil and natural gas and this trend will continue. Lower energy costs have given US businesses a competitive edge and the energy sector is growing and is provided well-paying jobs. It is estimated that this sector has added almost a point to the GDP and is the main factor in why our deficit has declined this year over last. All of this growth has come from the private sector while the government has restricted fracking on public lands. Since President Obama took office, total U.S. oil and natural gas production has increased. This increase, however, has happened in spite of the President, not because of him. The increase in production is occurring on private and state lands, the use of which is much harder for the President to restrict (at least in the short term). Meanwhile, production on federal lands is decreasing significantly. This decrease isn’t a result of President Obama’s policies exclusively, but it is the result of decades and policies that have systematically reduced energy production on federal lands.