SOTU: ‘We have ended the war on American energy’

What’s the story?

During his State of the Union Address, President Donald Trump declared:

"We have ended the war on American energy. And we have ended the war on beautiful clean coal. We are now very proudly an exporter of energy to the world."

What is ‘Clean Coal’?

The phrase was created by advertising agency R&R Partners in 2008 to refer to coal companies working to reduce the carbon emissions caused by burning coal.

What is the state of American energy?

Coal

As Newsweek reported, "it is true that 771 net coal miners were hired in 2017, but the death toll also doubled to 15, up from eight in 2016. The majority of coal-producing states actually lost jobs last year."

Solar and wind

Newsweek also noted that the "the solar and wind industries still employed nearly three times as many people as the coal industry."

Earlier this month, the president announced the U.S. would slap a 30 percent tax on imported solar panels. The Solar Energy Industries Association estimates that the move will cost 23,000 American jobs.

Oil and gas

According to a forecast this month by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the country won’t become a net exporter of energy until 2026.

The EIA data does show that natural gas production reached a record level in December 2017, and that oil production is expected to expand this year and next. However, hydraulic fracking surged under former President Barack Obama.

Last month, the Trump administration announced plans to allow offshore oil and gas drilling in nearly all U.S. waters.

What do you think?

Do you support the president’s energy policies? Hit Take Action and tell your reps, then share your thoughts below.

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—Josh Herman

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(Photo Credit: halbergman / iStock)