Free Republic

Why are global elites demanding poor nations make energy expensive? Over the last decade, the World Economic Forum (WEF), the United Nations’ International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the World Bank have all urged poor nations to stop subsidizing fossil fuels. “End fossil fuel subsidies and reset the economy for a better world,” read the headline of a June 2020 WEF article about the launch of its “Great Reset” initiative. -SNIP- And, it’s not just Haiti. Over 40 nations since 2005 have triggered riots after cutting fuel subsidies or otherwise raising energy prices. It happened earlier this year in Kazakhstan, Ecuador...

A pair of fertilizer production facilities in Poland have reportedly closed their doors, at least temporarily, because of the exorbitant cost of natural gas and other fuels. Record-breaking prices for fuel all across Europe forced Grupa Azoty, the European Union’s second-largest fertilizer producer and the owner of one of the plants, to halt operations. The company issued the following statement on August 22: “Due to record prices for natural gas, the main raw material for Grupa Azoty SA’s production, the company decided on August 22, 2022 to temporarily shut down its nitrogen fertilizer, caprolactam and polyamide 6 production plants from...

Hundreds of small-business truckers who use CoreFund Capital to factor their accounts receivable are struggling to stay afloat after the Weatherford, Texas-based company abruptly closed its doors 10 days ago and fired its entire staff over a legal spat between two brothers. However, late Thursday, Parker County, Texas, District Judge Graham Quisenberry appointed a receiver on behalf of CoreFund, which may help truckers gain access to funds more quickly. Attorneys, rival factoring companies and brokerages have received numerous calls from some of CoreFund’s approximately 350 trucking clients, including many owner-operators, who are desperate for answers and may be forced to...

Inflation is crippling rural America and driving some people to consider moving closer to cities in an effort to ease the financial stress, according to the latest analysis from one expert. Iowa State University professor Dave Peters has been studying the effect of inflation on people in rural communities as part of the school's Small Town Project. He found that this year alone, expenses for rural Americans had increased by 9.2%, but their earnings only increased by 2.6%. And Peters has pinpointed where it's hurting most. "Mainly, fuel prices, particularly among the farmer and agricultural community," he said. "They really...

U.S. President Joe Biden has proposed blocking all new drilling in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans as the world cries out for more energy from more sources far from Russia, the Middle East, and the OPEC oil cartel. Biden is also moving to shut down exploration and production of oil and gas on onshore federal lands while acknowledging the importance of fossil fuels in the U.S. energy landscape, as Breitbart News reported. A plan released Friday shows the White House proposed no more than 10 potential lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico, an option for one potential lease sale...

More than a dozen protesters have been arrested for driving too slowly during demonstrations on motorways in England, Scotland and Wales over fuel prices. The go-slow action is mainly targeting three-lane motorways with convoys of vehicles crawling along two lanes-leavng the "fast" outside lane free. Twelve people were arrested after a protest on the M4, which led to the Prince of Wales bridge, between England and Wales, being closed. Another man was arrested near the A38. Protesters, organised under the social media banner Fuel Price Stand Against Tax, have driven in a series of convoys at 30 mph (48.3 km/h)...

Thousands of Ecuadoreans took to the streets Tuesday for a ninth day of Indigenous-led fuel price protests, as the military vowed to defend the country's democracy against what it called a "grave threat". Called by the powerful Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (Conaie) the demonstrators have seen roads barricaded countrywide, cost the economy tens of millions of dollars and left dozens injured. "Ecuador's democracy faces a grave threat from the concerted actions of ....people who are preventing the free movement of the majority of Ecuadorans," Defense Minister Luis Lara told a press conference, flanked by the heads of the...

Thoughts on the Strategic Petroleum Reserve… Americans have always been encouraged to be savers. This isn’t just a recent thing, from the do-it-yourself investment gurus of the late 20th century. It goes back to our very beginnings as a people: When Benjamin Franklin used various versions of the saying, “A penny saved is a penny earned” in Poor Richard’s Almanac in the mid-18th century, the concept was already a century old. One of our first political arguments as a nation under the Constitution was on the question of how best to incorporate and utilize banks; our Founding Fathers knew that...

Police fired teared gas and used water cannons Saturday to disperse protestors in Paris who are demonstrating for a second weekend against rising fuel prices. The so-called “Yellow Jacket” activists, named after the neon vest worn by motorists during roadside emergencies, are calling on French President Emmanuel Macron to step back from planned hike of taxes on gasoline. While the mass movement focuses on the gas tax, it highlights a broader array of frustrations with Macron. The French president was already struggling with approval scores in the mid-twenties and an underperforming economy before protests began.

First-quarter profit at General Motors rose nearly eight times above a year ago as U.S. consumers spent big on pickups and SUVs and the company didn’t have to set aside a huge stack of money to pay for recalls. The Detroit automaker said it made $945 million, as consumers got used to lower gasoline prices and decided to buy bigger vehicles. That’s right in GM’s sweet spot, with trucks such as the Chevrolet Silverado pickup and Cadillac Escalade large SUV. Profit margins on the trucks are sizable, with analysts estimating that GM makes more than $10,000 per vehicle. In the...

Driving in America has stalled, leading researchers to ask: Is the national love affair with the automobile over? After rising for decades, total vehicle use in the U.S.—the collective miles people drive—peaked in August 2007. It then dropped sharply during the Great Recession and has largely plateaued since, even though the economy is recovering and the population growing. Just this week the Federal Highway Administration reported vehicle miles traveled during the first half of 2013 were down slightly, continuing the trend. … Researchers are divided on the reasons behind the trends. One camp says the changes are almost entirely linked...

As we’ve seen, you can’t believe what politicians tell you. Yes, that’s a shocker, we know. But voters seem to buy the same old clap trap time after time then wonder what went wrong. Just more evidence of our point from some weeks ago. So, you might recall some years ago the Legislature adopted and the governor at that time, a former movie actor, signed into law the much trumpeted Global Warming Solutions Act. What could go wrong? . . .

Pelosi Statement on President Obama’s Plan to Crack Down on Oil Market Manipulation April 17, 2012 Washington, D.C. – Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today after President Obama announced a five-part initiative to increase oversight and crack down on excess speculation and price manipulation in oil markets: “Today, the President announced responsible actions to curb excess speculation in energy markets that drives up prices at the pump and causes pain for millions of middle class Americans. Democrats stand ready to act on these proposals now – to put more ‘cops on the beat’ overseeing oil markets, to...

The Obama administration is blaming Israel for the recent rise in global crude oil prices, according to a Sunday report in The World Tribune. The rise in fuel prices is deemed as harming the U.S. economy and has also hurt Obama in the polls as he seeks re-election in November. The report cited a leading U.S. analyst, Robert Satloff, who returned from talks with Israeli officials. Satloff, executive director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said, according to The World Tribune, that the Israeli leadership saw Washington as attributing the higher gas prices to “Israel’s posturing” on Iran....

President Obama does not "accept responsibility" for high gas prices, his spokesman indicated today, arguing that Obama has done everything he could to bring down the price of oil and blaming the high gas prices on oil price increases caused by global factors.

HOUSTON - A former Houston oil executive predicts drivers could be paying $5 for a gallon of gas by the end of the year, and says politicians in Washington D.C. are to blame. John Hofmeister is the retired president of Shell Oil. He currently runs the non-profit group Citizens for Affordable Energy. "It was actually December, 2010, when I predicted $5 gasoline by the end of 2012," said Hofmeister. "And, I said then, 'I hope I'm wrong.' My concern is I won't be wrong." Some energy price analysts have said Hofmeister's prediction is likely off by at least $1 --...

Supplies of gasoline are near a 17-year high, so filling up should be cheaper soon, an analyst says. Retail gasoline prices rose nationally in the last week, the Energy Department said Monday, but analysts said there was strong reason to believe that pump prices should be falling soon. The average price of a gallon of regular gasoline rose nationally by 3.2 cents to $2.858, according to the Energy Department's weekly telephone survey of service stations. California's average was nearly unchanged for the fourth straight week, climbing just 0.8 of a cent to $3.096 a gallon. Gasoline supplies are near a...

All of the fuel-hedging, layoffs, capacity and route-cutting the airline industry did last year in an attempt to offset the rising price of fuel has gone for nothing. Delta (DAL) announced today that it would need to make more significant reductions in available seats and the process would cost many more people their jobs. According to the AP, most of the $6 billion benefit that Delta got from its NWA merger and resulting capacity reductions will be washed away by falling revenue due to the global recession. Delta will chop its number of international seats by 15%. The news is...

Officials in the Asheville area say they don't expect fuel to begin flowing normally again for at least another week and are urging drivers to conserve gasoline. Buncombe County said Tuesday there is enough gas in the area to keep police cars and fire trucks fueled, and officials promised the shortage won't affect 911 service. But all non-emergency county staff have been asked to work an alternate schedule or from home. And officials say area residents should consolidate their trips to conserve fuel and consider avoiding trips that aren't necessary. Hurricane Ike closed oil refineries along the Gulf Coast. Analysts...

Our mission is to inspire Americans to pressure their representatives in government to do what’s necessary for the United States of America to become energy independent. Included in this mission is a commitment to remind all American Citizens of the powerful premise on which our Constitution was based: