Gas prices…you think they’re high now? Just wait. Energy expert Jack Kerfoot predicts a national average price of $5 per gallon within a year. But, he says, things will get better as the use of renewable energy and electric vehicles increases.
Further, Kerfoot adds, the new infrastructure law just signed by President Biden and the pending climate/social spending bill include provisions that will help reduce oil demand, and thus help to ease prices.
The White House says the infrastructure plan will “strengthen our nation’s resilience to extreme weather and climate change while reducing greenhouse gas emissions, expanding access to clean drinking water, building up a clean power grid, and more.”
Meanwhile, the so-called social spending and climate reconciliation bill, still faces a challenge in Congress, with stubborn opposition from Sen. Joe Manchin, the West Virginia Democrat who has opposed virtually every proposed provision that would impact the coal industry. Of course, every single Republican opposes this important measure, as well.
Appearing on The Lean to the Left Podcast, Kerfoot, predicts $5 per gallon gasoline within a year, but says those prices will decline as electric vehicles become mainstream and reduce the demand for oil. The energy future for the U.S., he says, is bright as renewable sources replace fossil fuel and reduce harmful greenhouse gases.
Kerfoot has been analyzing efforts by individual states to support renewable energy, such as wind and solar, and he sees little impact of political ideology in those efforts..
"I have not seen political platforms correlate to a state making real progress at reducing greenhouse gas emissions," he says. "To be blunt, we have red and blue states led by people that are clueless on how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or how to implement programs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. I see states like New Jersey, Illinois, New Mexico, Idaho, and Minnesota as examples to other states. These states have met with utilities and energy experts to develop a program to transform their fossil fuel power grid to a green grid."
That's interesting as a new Washington Post-ABC poll shows that concern about climate change as an existential threat among Democrats rose by 11 points to 95 percent over seven years. At the same time, the share of Republicans who say climate change is a serious problem fell by 10 points, to 39 percent, over the same period. The Republican decline in Post-ABC polls tracks the findings of annual Gallup polls showing that Republican concerns dropped after 2017, when Donald Trump became president.
Kerfoot has been our guest a couple of times on The Lean to the Left Podcast to discuss renewable energy and climate change. He’s a scientist, energy expert and author of "FUELING AMERICA: An Insider's Journey," and is the principal at JL Energy Services, blogging on his website, "Our Energy Conundrum," at www.jackkerfoot.com.
If you care about climate change, our environment, and the future, take a listen to this episode.