Gov. Mike Dunleavy: I will fight for prosperity
Eventually we had the water wheel, and then the Industrial Revolution that was powered by coal. Then along came oil to power the world economy, and here in the United States it opened up a new freedom of mobility to the individual as the gas- fired engine replaced the horse-and- buggy. Eventually, because of policies, through the 1950s to the ‘70s we saw the heyday of nuclear energy that pow- ered many of our homes and business- es, as well as our ships and subs at sea. As we know, environmentalists have come after all these sources of energy as well. Energy, and low-cost energy, has been the foundation of not just our so- ciety here in the U.S., but it has lifted billions of people out of poverty around the world. The latest revolution that made the U.S. the world’s energy superpower, as we know, has been fracking. It has also given us a classic example of why policies matter. Because of fracking, Pennsylvania is second only to Texas in the production of natural gas. Yet just next door, residents of New Jersey, New York, and other parts of New England are not the beneficiaries of this gas because of their state policies. Not because it is too far away. Not because it doesn’t exist. It’s because politicians in these states don’t want pipelines. And they are willing to force higher prices on their citizens and risk inter- mittent energy outages for the purpose of their social engineering programs. Ironically, those state politicians are more than willing to force their citizens to seek out sources like coal or heating oil instead of natural gas. It makes no sense. Policies must be logical and mar- ket-driven, and that’s what’s missing too often at the state and federal level. We all want clean air and clean wa- ter. We also need affordable energy from dependable resources to ensure stabil- ity.
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy delivered an address to attendees at Meet Alaska, the Alaska Support Industry Alliance’s annual energy conference and trade show in Anchorage. Here is the text of his remarks: It’s a privilege to speak to you all at this moment in world history. We are living in a time of tremen- dous upheaval affecting almost every - thing we take for granted: food security, energy security, and national security. In our world of the 24-hour news cycle, times like these can feel unprec- edented, but any study of world history shows that they are not. The Number 1 constant in the world over the history of civilization is change and uncertainty. That may sound like an oxymoron, but it’s true. We can talk about ebbs and flows, and ups and downs in prices. We can talk about shortages, shocks, and embargoes. In the end, the concept of a static world makes no sense. I’m not Nostradamus, but I don’t have to be. This isn’t the first time … and it won’t be the last … that we see this kind of global turmoil. Where there can and should be re- liability and certainty in an uncertain world is policy, and energy in partic- ular. Policy is the key, and unfortunately, it’s our policies that have gotten us into this current dilemma with energy se- curity and independence. This isn’t a matter of lacking the technology or the resources. We have plenty of that. It’s been new technology that’s al- lowed us to access tight shale oil and gas through fracking. When it comes to oil and gas, nu- clear, hydro, wind, etcetera, we under- stand the science to access these sourc- es of energy. We know how to transmit and transport these sources. The wild card is policy and the types of energy that are supported under our
current policies. Without the right policies on a state and national level, it’s difficult, close to impossible, to have stable supplies of energy. State and federal policies must have a multi-year, multi-decade, horizon to ensure stability for investment. A homeowner, or a small business owner, however, can make rapid policy decisions specific to their situation to create certainty. The home or business owner can quickly add solar, wind, propane, etc., if they have the wherewithal and the knowhow. That individual policy decision then leads to a reliable, constant, multi- source energy to underwrite their costs. This is what needs to happen at a state, federal, and global scale. As demonstrated by the Biden ad- ministration, national energy policy shouldn’t move and change at such a rapid pace before all the parts are in place and tested. I mentioned that the Number 1 con - stant in our world is change, and the history of energy reflects that as well. The first energy revolution was fire. Photo by Lee Leschper Dunleavy: “Without the right policies on a state and national level, it’s difficult, close to impossible, to have stable supplies of energy.”
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The Alaska Miner
Spring 2022
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