By SUZANNE DOWNING
What does Tommy Beaudreau know that we don’t know?
Beaudreau, longtime energy attorney and alum of the Obama Administration, resigned from his post as Deputy Secretary of the Department of Interior, saying only that he wants to spend more time with family.
For those of us who were not born yesterday, that’s like saying you are resigning to “pursue other opportunities.” The Department of Interior and his immediate boss, Secretary of Interior Deb Haaland, isn’t saying a word.
Instead, Secretary Haaland is busy entertaining the drag queen Pattie Gonia in celebration of LBGTQ History Month, making videos with someone who grotesquely mocks women, while pretending to be a park ranger in a miniskirt.
Perhaps Beaudreau sees the writing on the wall, that the Biden Administration’s energy policy is not only incoherent, it has become a national security threat.
This administration is not serious about governing well or fulfilling its legitimate duties. It’s only serious about staying in power long enough to “finish the job” of the Obama Administration, which was “fundamentally transforming the United States of America.”
Beaudreau may understand that, and see that it’s time to find a lifeboat.
His unexpected resignation comes at the same time the Department of the Interior published new regulations regarding the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, regs that would severely restrict energy development in an area that Congress specifically set aside for oil and gas, even naming it “petroleum,” for the vast quantities of energy it stores for the nation. A conservative estimate is that the NPRA’s federal portion has between 6 and 13.2 billion barrels of recoverable oil.
The Department of Interior made this regulatory move without consulting indigenous communities, as required by law. This is a take-back, a double-cross, the government pillaging the wallets of Americans as gas prices soar once again, and as home heating fuel will average $4.45 a gallon this winter, on a good day.
The NPRA has, written in law, management plan that balances conservation with the nation’s energy security, which is based on the undeniable foundation of energy independence, and minimizing reliance on despots overseas. Responsible oil and gas development furthers that goal and provides massive additional benefits in the way of union jobs, economic prosperity, and educational opportunities for Alaska Natives, the state, and nation as a whole.
The 60-day comment period has begun for the proposed shutting down the NPRA to oil. Hence, the well-funded environmental lobbyists from K Street have been hard at it. For them, the Biden Administration cannot shut down Alaska fast enough.
But it doesn’t stop there. The Department of Interior also released a five-year plan for offshore energy development with a maximum of three potential sales. The plan, a year late and a dollar short, has zero lease sales until 2025, which puts the sales on the calendar long after the next election, when the second Biden term would shelve them the way it took back already-sold oil and gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, reversing the promised federal drilling program.
This new leasing program also has no lease sales for off the coast of Alaska.
The Biden Administration is doing as much as it can get away with to drain America’s energy independence, while giving special favors to Venezuela and Iran, emboldening our nation’s adversaries of China and Russia.
The cost is already being felt by Americans, who are reeling at the nearly 13% inflation robbing their paychecks in 2022 and an additional 9.2% inflation this fiscal year, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Sen. Dan Sullivan of Alaska calls it “national security suicide.” He’s right.
“It’s also an affront to working Americans who are struggling to pay their bills as this administration continues its dangerous crusade to appease radical activists and shut down American energy,” Sullivan said.
Alaska, one of the most resource-rich places on the planet, is already preparing to have to import natural gas from overseas because of the Biden Administration’s plan to shut down Cook Inlet gas fields.
This Biden Administration energy policy is not only insanity, it is deliberate and foolish.
Beaudreau, raised in Alaska, understands the need for oil and gas far into the future. He was the last voice of sanity in the building.
Was he pushed out because he spoke too forcefully in favor of Willow? After all, it was his signature on the decision, not the secretary’s. Beaudreau was at least willing to listen and engage.
If Beaudreau’s leaving, it’s got to be worse than we knew. The patients are now running the asylum at Interior.
Suzanne Downing is publisher of Must Read Alaska.
The Biden regime sure has a lot of lawsuits because of his recklessness and disregard for law. Looks like he’s going to have another.
And we get to pay for them.
It would be awfully nice if Alaska judges started doing something in response to the Feds pulling rug after rug out from under us.
I recall Judge Gleason was angry at the DOI for approving Willow after all she had done to stop it. What would be nice is if voters would start recalling some of these judges who go against our economic interests and do not share our values. I always vote no on most judges.
Since when has the Biden administration given a damn about the law?
Somebody needs to pay him more than Iran is so he’ll suddenly allow energy production.
Swamp is incomplete in his assessment. This isn’t national defense suicide, it’s national suicide.
People could be forgiven for thinking Biden has been paid to destroy this nation.
I’m vocal and proud of that thought.
Yeah, is this honoring the statehood compact tho? Like there has to be meeting of the minds. How come our minds aren’t meeting with feds ant more? Could we have bit of specific performance for once, please?
AM I asking too much? Just the statehood act?
If you’re expecting the federal government to actually honor it, yes.
Oh no. It wasn’t just a joke.
Bravo! Excellent article, Suzanne!
Great article ‼️ Just remember Cocaine Mary brought this degenerate bimbo to Bethel this last summer as part of the “Gag A Maggot Tour.
This whole Biden Administration has been a disaster for Alaska. But some of the readers have also been right when they write about the Statehood Act being violated. The land swap completion is long overdue. As for violating lands already ceded to the state, this seems to be standard operations for this administration. Finally, I loved the humor in Wally Keppel’s comment about the “Gag a Maggot Tour.” Well done!
It is far past time to declare a breach of Compact and to declare Statehood null and void.
The Alaska Republic
Or
The Republic of Alaska.
We succeed from the United States and then develop an alliance with them militarily. By kicking the feds out of Alaska we will control our own destiny. We will no longer have the federal overlords making decisions for our lives here in our own state.
I think the movement for independence is long overdue.
Sad to say it is getting that bad
I get mad reading Sullivan’s comments that makes him sound concerned. This is the same guy that keeps voting to send money to Ukraine and has no problem accepting illegitimate money from the illegitimate government.
I cannot imagine what is going to be going through my mind when it is 0 deg to neg 20 F and we have no fuel for heat or cooking. Those sod homes and igloos are sounding better and better as each day passes with this illegal government that has overthrown our nation.
This guy has no business being on the same panel with Daniel Yergin….for an attorney to be so unprepared is hard to fathom……..
‘https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBJwQACtDMQ
Too late….. the last sane DOI employee is long gone!
At statehood we were provided with over 100 million acres so that Alaska would not be a federal welfare colony. Between the morons in the Biden administration and certain Republicans that want to give away our oil, Alaska is failing. We’ve spent most of our reserves- which had contained $20 billion we’d saved before Sb-21. Now the Permanent fund is declining in value and the fund will not be able to grow and provide billions to pay for state services. Each Alaska family has lost $40,000 (family of four) due to smaller dividends because we give away our oil under SB-21.
So what do we do? We need to fight for a fair share of our resources, and we need to sue the feds for their failure to honor the agreements we made at statehood. Those lands are intended to provide Alaska with revenue. If we don’t do both, we will fail.
If the Biden administration seriously wants to reduce CO2 emissions, it should press hard to support nuclear power and should reduce regulatory roadblocks, and institute litigation reforms to stop groups from delaying construction endlessly and causing costs to soar. We should emulate France which gets 75% of its power from CO2-free nuclear sources.
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Stopping Alaska oil and gas production, only shifts production to other countries, some of which are our enemies.
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Instead of spending time encouraging a disturbed person’s eccentric behavior, Secretary Deb Haaland should encourage American energy independence, economic strength and security.
What do you do with the spent nuclear fuel? At least fossil fuels return carbon to the carbon cycle, a natural process for recycling that can handle our carbon waste easily. Anthropomorphic “sequestration” is unnatural and dangerous.
A lump of nuclear fuel has about a million times more energy than a lump of coal and therefore it produces less residual waste than coal.
For every 1000 kilowatt-hours of electrical energy, coal power plants produce about 190 pounds of coal ash, 1700 pounds of CO2 and a few pounds of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides.
Coal is good and necessary, but nuclear power has a big advantage in producing less waste. For 1000 Kilowatt-hours of electrical energy, nuclear power stations produce 3 grams of waste (1/10 ounce).
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After about 4 years, the fuel rod assemblies are “spent” and are removed and placed in cooling pools, covered by 20 feet of water for at least 5 years. Then after the radiation and heat has died down, they may be placed in dry casks, where they are just air cooled.
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A “spent” fuel rod still has 90% of its energy and can be reprocessed. This is done in some countries, like France, but not in the United States. The advantage of recycling the fuel rods, is that the amount of waste that is destined for ultimate disposal, can be reduced by 80%.
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Ultimate disposal involves placement deep in a rock formation. Only Finland is on the verge of completing its deep geological repository for permanent nuclear waste placement, called “Onkalo”. It is on the southwest coast of Finland near 3 existing nuclear power plants. The tunnels are 430 meters below the surface in granite bedrock.
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The US has a similar idea at Yucca Mountain in the Nevada desert, but the plans have been stalled, due to opposition and a lack of understanding by many people and politicians in Nevada.
There are no sane persons left, at least in management two levels up from buck private and higher, anywhere in the DOI. They are hell-bent on destroying America and Alaska in particular.
We will be at full fledged war shortly and then it’s no holds barred. If you’re a greasy thieving politician you best find a big cave to hide in. I’m sick of this insane nonsense. What the hell happened to our country.
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