| Energy Realism this past Thanksgiving week discussed the environmental and monetary drain of “going green.” Make no mistake: Biden’s progressive energy-climate plans benefit China. Brent Bennett and Andrea Hitt got us started by exposing the highly expensive electric car fantasy that greens continue to push. The Biden administration is pushing for widespread electrification in less than 20 years through government subsidies and coercive regulations as part of its aggressive climate agenda. The truth is that President Joe Biden’s goals are an illusion at the expense of the American people. And perhaps the bigger question for greens, they must answer how unilateral American energy-climate policy can in, actuality, “fight climate change.”In fact, climate change by definition is a global issue. So, how do our actions alone offer any benefits or have any impact? This is especially pertinent here since Vijay Jayaraj looks at the case of China, where the “coal boom is here to stay.” Despite climate pledges from the Chinese Communist Party, during the first half of 2023, China approved 52 gigawatts (GW) of new coal power, which was more than all the approvals issued in 2021. These new approvals are in addition to the 136 GW of coal capacity already under construction. Together, these new plants represent more than 67% of all new approvals in the world. Indeed, on climate, you don’t matter nearly as much as greens want you to think. And even if we were somehow to “just go green,” Danny Ervin documents how China even controls the global supply chains for the natural resources so essential to the “energy transition” that greens want to force upon us. But Danny does offer up some hope. While concerns about U.S. mineral reliance on China are clearly justified, the U.S. should view critical minerals as a challenge that can be largely solved by making improvements to the mine permitting process, ensuring that companies don't face interminable delays when opening new mines. This naturally then brings us to the Essential Reading from our BrainTrust member Mark P. Mills. The policy shift to significantly more wind and solar power and a large electric car fleet will require a huge amount of minerals and other materials that will have an environmental toll and increase U.S. import dependency. Remember: energy facts matter, and we hope that you had a great Turkey Day! In the News Francis Menton, Manhattan Contrarian Robert Bryce Nectar Gan, Ella Nilsen, CNN Sabrina Valle, Reuters CleanTechnica Evan Simko-Bednarski, Yahoo News EPRINC Danny Ervin, RealClearEnergy Nick Pope, Daily Caller Thomas Catenacci, Fox News Dawn Allcot, Yahoo Finance NY Times Sarah Boseley, The Guardian Dawn Allcot, Yahoo Finance Saul Elbein, The Hill Fox News Former OMB director Russ Vought explains how the higher purchasing cost of electric vehicles, the cost to the electrical grid, and President Biden’s policies contribute to higher pri... Car Help Corner 10 major problems with electric cars you must know before buying one. We explain the biggest problems with owning an electric car that you might not know about. Are electric cars wor... Zeihan on Geopolitics When the major auto manufacturers start changing their EV plans, it's probably a sign something's not quite right. For all those who think they're better than everyone else because t... | 