Climate Change is Back

Just when you thought the hydrocarbon sector of the economy was back, President Obama announces climate change is on the 2013 agenda in his inaugural address.

House Democrats tried to mount a climate change offensive in 2009, but the bad economy and health care, financial regulations and other legislation consumed all the political space.  The backlash on health care reform, evident by August 2009, brought new legislation mostly to a standstill.

Recent polls show a majority of the public believe climate change is a serious problem (64%; very serious – 39%) (Pew, Oct. 2012).  But, modest levels of agreement are registered on the question if it is manmade (42%).  And, only 28 percent of seniors, a key bloc of voters in the 2014 House and Senate election, believe climate change is manmade and only 52 percent see it as a serious problem (29% very serious).

The reality of 2013 is that oil and especially natural gas exploration, extraction, transportation, refinement and distribution may be one of our most important economic drives during the next phase of the slow recovery.  It is leading American to a long sought after goal of energy independence.

And, natural gas is, in fact, benefitting the environment by reducing the dependence on coal for electrical generation.

Higher taxes and more regulations will likely face considerable opposition.