Politico: “The Rise and Fall of the Fracking Phenomenon”
RFF Fellow Daniel Raimi shares his thoughts on the future of the US energy mix.
“But the power sector is not the only thing that matters, notes Daniel Raimi, who has been examining fracking and other issues for the Resources for the Future think tank for years. ‘We’ve also had this boom in petrochemical manufacturing and LNG exports,’ Raimi said, referring to liquefied natural gas. ‘The boom in oil has helped keep oil prices lower than they otherwise would have been, and all of those things tend to increase emissions, and so net on net it’s not quite clear.’
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If the world speeds up its transition to electric vehicles while the United States keeps the shift in reverse gear, the American industry could be ‘islanded off,’ from the rest of the world, as [Christopher] Knittel put it. Perhaps the model for the United States’ energy future isn’t Saudi Arabia, but an actual island.
‘I wonder if we’re like Cuba,’ Raimi said. ‘We’re going to have our ancient, oil-based cars driving around the streets, while the rest of the world is zipping around in EVs.
‘I think it’s a real possibility. It’s not a possibility that I think is a good one.’”
