US will become one of the world's top gas exporters by 2020

Come 2022, the US will produce more than a fifth of the world’s gas, putting it on the same level as top gas exporters such as Russia and Norway, the agency predicted. As an exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG), it would become second biggest in five years, behind Australia but above Gulf state Qatar.

“The US is already the largest gas producer in the world and will increase production more than any other country over the next five years,” said Keisuke Sadamori, director for energy markets and security at the IEA. “US gas production will grow by nearly 3% a year.”

Source: The Guardian, July 13, 2017


Domestic energy production is equal to about 91% of U.S. energy consumption…
The three major fossil fuels—petroleum, natural gas, and coal—accounted for most [78%] of the nation's energy production in 2016
.

The chart below illustrates how dramatically fossil fuel production has increased in recent years.

Charting U.S. fossil fuel usage, 1776-2015
In 2015, the renewable share of energy consumption in the United States was its largest since the 1930s at nearly 10%. Chart courtesy of U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Impacts to Communities from Increased Fossil Fuel production

While “energy independence” advances important U.S. foreign policy goals, domestic fossil fuel production also creates increased public health and environmental risks at home. As production of natural gas and crude oil has increased exponentially over the last 15 years, EPA and the States have been challenged to keep pace with corresponding increases in air emissions, water discharges, transportation and facility spills and cleanup requirements in the oil and gas sector.

EPA’s FY17 Performance Plan included 37 programs and targeted activities aimed at addressing increased public health and environmental risks from oil and gas production.  In several instances, the Agency requested additional funding to effectively implement these activities.

The Trump Administration’s FY18 proposed budget slashes funding for all of these oil-and-gas related pollution control activities, outright eliminating many. These actions represent a major shift in EPA's priorities: away from protecting public health in favor of expanding oil and gas production.   

Below is a summary of important changes favoring oil and gas production, as reflected in the Trump Administrations's 2018 workplan for EPA.  (Details about these programs and activities can be viewed here.)

 

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Save EPA has been an all-volunteer group of former EPA officials who became alarmed about the Trump agenda for EPA and joined together to fight it.

With newly-elected President-Elect Biden and VP-Elect Harris coming in January, the need to "save EPA" is much less urgent. This is not to imply all clear skies ahead - there is much re-building to do, there will be negative pressures on the new administration, and we will likely have policy differences in the future. However, we are hopeful that these differences will be discussed rationally, using science as a basis for moving forward, and keeping EPA's mission of protecting human health and the environment in the forefront.

And so, we are going back to retirement!  We're keeping our website up at http://saveepaalums.info/ , as a resource for those who want to follow and influence the restoration work. Our report on the Trump record at EPA describes the actions that need to be reversed [saveepaalums.info/Trump+era+report], and our guide to participating in the rulemaking process [http://saveepaalums.info/Resistance+Guide] can help you be part of the solution.

Thank you for your support and commitment during the past 3.5 years.  While the Trump assaults were unending, they were also frequently unsuccessful, and that was due in large part to public outrage.  Keep it up!  Although EPA will be in much better hands with a Biden administration, there is always a need for an informed and engaged public.