1. Strengthens China and China’s influence in the world
2. Weakens America

I was just reading in the morning wsj that another pipeline (in addition to Keystone) has been shut down between Canada and the US. This one operated by Enbridge was a new pipeline to replace a 67 year old existing pipeline with newer, safer construction.

This action is apparently by the Governor of Michigan. But, she has similar (D) views on the War on Carbon as Biden and the rest of the Democrat Party.

Biden’s Executive Order to rejoin the Paris Climate Agreement is anti-American, just as President Trump said it was. The assault on carbon based fuels in the year 2021 is moving fast to further disadvantage or cripple America’s manufacturing might. At the same time, much of the world manufacturing (and economic prosperity that could have fueled America’s economy) is shifting this prosperity to China and Russia. It doesn’t seem to matter to these US politicians that 88% of our total energy comes from conventional sources. By conventional I mean both Fossil and Nuclear energy. Yes, 88% of our energy. The current admistration wishes to crush fossil fuels and is doing little to support nuclear. America had just reached Energy Independence and in the name of “Green Religion”. (What else can you call it?) Biden (and all of the Democrat’s I can think of) wishes to self inflict severe economic harm to American and Canadian industries. What are Biden and the Democrats thinking?

Meanwhile, China is designing, manufacturing, lending and building coal power plants all over the Planet in the Developing Countries of the world. Why? They are seizing the opportunity to show how they can help lift people out of poverty better than the U.S.A. can. Quite honestly, the “Belt and Roads Initiative” is in fact, lifting many out of poverty. Heading into Communism isn’t such a great idea but when folks are living in squalor with no clean water to drink, no job and little electricity, being controlled by the CCP is far down their worry list.

Now, let’s just suppose two American companies like Babcock and Wilcox, a 154 year old magnificent US Manufacturer and General-Electric another world class manufacturer, want to build a new coal power plant in one of Africa’s countries. In my early days of working for B&W, I remember US Foreign Aid was done by exporting American manufactured power plants and more. Great American companies like B&W, Westinghouse, Combustion-Engineering, Foster-Wheeler, Riley Stoker and more. Great memories for me of the 1960’s, It seems the Chinese took notes on our successful policies and are now applying the U.S.A.’s 1960’s model of USAID to their best interests. China calls it the “Belt and Roads Initiative” (BRI). It was win-win in the 1960’s for the U.S.A.. American jobs were provided to design and manufacture the equipment and the Developing Countries were able to improve living conditions and their economy. France began it’s path to excellent nuclear power generation starting with President Eisenhower’s “Atoms for Peace” initiative and the exporting of “Westinghouse Pressurized Water Reactor Nuclear Power Plants” Then, France went on to build their own.

So, China is now replacing America in the global arena of lifting poor countries out of poverty. Why? For now, read the absurd World Bank Policy on lending for new power plants:

The statement below in green font is from the “World Bank” web page:

Energy is at the heart of development.  Energy makes possible the investments, innovations and new industries that are the engines of jobs, inclusive growth and shared prosperity for entire economies. Universal access to affordable, reliable and sustainable and modern energy – Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7 — is essential to reach other SDGs and is at the center of efforts to tackle climate change. The World Bank is committed to helping countries reach SDG7, which is central to delivering on the World Bank’s primary mandate: ending poverty and boosting shared prosperity. 

Today, 789 million people live without electricity and hundreds of millions more live with insufficient or unreliable access to it.  Nearly 3 billion people cook or heat their homes with polluting fuels like wood or other biomass, resulting in indoor and outdoor air pollution that cause widespread health impacts.

While the gaps are daunting, significant progress is being made in many areas. The global energy landscape is witnessing a major transformation and renewable energy is playing an increasingly vital role in helping countries develop modern, secure energy systems.  Lower costs for clean energy are helping with this transition, while disruptive technologies like smart grids, smart meters and geospatial data systems have upturned energy planning.

New large-scale approaches that combine grid and off-grid electrification have also contributed to impressive gains in energy access in many countries. In others, mini-grids are showing promise in closing the access gap.  At the same time, solar home systems are increasing in efficiency as they decrease in cost – making them affordable in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, which are regions that account for the most significant gaps in energy access. 

World Bank website Jan. 29, 2021: https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/energy/overview

China is building thousands of coal plants around the world. Yes, meanwhile, while Biden’s Administration, Democrat Governors and Congress wage their war on carbon, China is helping to lift many countries of the world out of Energy Poverty. “Power Engineering International” magazine has estimated that 2,500 new coal plants will be built in Africa over the next ten years. China already produces over 50% of the world’s steel. Much of that steel production will be used to produce boiler tubing, piping, structural steel and state of the art steam turbines and generators. Not up to US Standards for now, but they are going to get a lot of practice. Meanwhile, America struggles to keep our share of Global manufacturing capacity. China has surpassed our manufacturing capacity. The war on carbon harms poor people struggling to improve their living conditions, it harms American workers and the War on Carbon fuels the rise of China.

That is why I have always advocated Common Sense Energy Policies that include ALL FORMS OF POWER GENERATION are important. Including solar and wind when practical. Let us not forget the 88% that we depend on now.

Dick Storm

Power Engineering International (PEI) Fossil Fuels bring Hope to Africa: https://www.powerengineeringint.com/world-regions/africa/fossil-fuels-to-dominate-africas-energy-mix-this-decade-report/

Japan Times: China Alone in Funding New Coal Plants in Africa:

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/05/07/asia-pacific/china-alone-africa-dirty-coal/

Sumitomo Mitsui and Mizuho to end lending for new coal-fired plants

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/04/16/business/smfg-mizuho-end-lending-coal-plants/

Chinese cash funds African coal plant building despite environmental concerns: South China Morning Post

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3110554/chinese-cash-funds-african-coal-plant-building-despite