OPINION:
Climate activists are pushing a tired political narrative that certain red regions of the nation are lagging when it comes to innovation in energy production. They say some states are clinging to the past while others are moving forward. You will find a very different story from energy-dominant regions, including the Marcellus Shale, the Permian Basin and Alaska’s North Slope.
American energy producers aren’t resisting change. They are the change.
Every morning before sunrise, energy workers head out to produce the power that fuels America, and they don’t always get the credit they deserve. They rarely get thanked.
Without them, however, not a single electric vehicle could charge, hospitals couldn’t operate and goods wouldn’t reach their destinations.
While politicians and climate groups debate abstract ideas about “responsible energy,” American companies are putting it into practice. Our producers have reduced emissions, recycled water and extended the lifespan of existing infrastructure. This didn’t happen because a federal agency told them to; it happened because efficiency and stewardship are integral to running a good operation.
They are also answering the call to help power America’s artificial intelligence revolution.
In July, I attended Sen. David McCormick’s Energy and Innovation Summit in Pittsburgh. This wasn’t a random location. Carnegie Mellon University was selected because it, along with Penn State and other great universities, is marrying cutting-edge artificial intelligence technology with innovation being developed and used in Pennsylvania gas fields to power the economy of the future.
Hilcorp is a prime example of innovation. The natural gas producer has built its model around revitalizing existing assets rather than starting new locations, a strategy that delivers more energy with less surface disturbance. Its methane emissions have fallen sharply in recent years, and it has created thousands of high-wage jobs in the process.
It’s not alone. Diamondback Energy, another major U.S. oil and gas producer, recycles millions of gallons of water annually in its drilling operations. It’s proving every day that domestic energy can be reliable and responsible.
Meanwhile, many of the loudest critics of oil and gas are cheering for solar and wind projects that clear open land, rely on foreign-made components and operate only with massive taxpayer subsidies. That’s not environmental leadership. That’s outsourcing.
Let’s be honest about the choice in front of us: Global demand for oil and gas is rising, not falling.
If America is to lead the AI economy, we must power data centers 24/7, not just when the sun shines or the wind blows. The question isn’t whether the world will use fossil fuels; it’s who will supply them. Would you rather employ Russians and Venezuelans who couldn’t care less about the environment or American workers operating under the world’s strongest environmental standards?
The shale revolution transformed rural and small-town Pennsylvania from a dust bowl to tremendous prosperity. Rural farmers, ranchers and energy workers aren’t villains. They’re the backbone of American economic and national security. Every barrel produced here at home is one barrel that isn’t fueling the war in Ukraine, communism in Venezuela or Islamic fascism in Iran.
Yet we continue to see the people who power our country get punished while the government showers subsidies on Chinese-produced projects that look green but fail when the weather changes.
Remarkably, Big Tech CEOs, university presidents and President Trump came together in Pittsburgh in agreement on the need for natural gas to power the AI economy. How often do they agree? It’s because the energy is here, the skilled workers are ready, the technology is clean and safe, and the risk capital, without government subsidies, is there to invest.
To beat China and its coal-driven AI data centers, we must stop wasting our money and our time on green fantasies. Instead, we must support American energy, which is capable of winning the war.
• Rick Santorum served as a U.S. senator for Pennsylvania.
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