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1 - Introduction

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 January 2022

Shanti Gamper-Rabindran
Affiliation:
University of Pittsburgh
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Summary

America faces an energy dilemma – continue down the path of oil and gas drilling or diversify to greater shares of renewable energy. The shale boom in the twenty-first century propelled America to become the largest crude oil producer in the world and a net exporter of natural gas. However, the shale bust from 2014 to 2016 prompted renewed debate on America’s pathway. For decades, successive presidents from Nixon to Obama vowed to end America’s addiction to oil. In reality, federal and state governments granted numerous privileges to the oil and gas sector in exchange for securing energy supply, jobs and tax revenue. In 2017, President Trump took office and launched his “America First Energy Plan,” which expanded oil and gas extraction, facilitated the buildout of oil and gas infrastructure, and hacked away at regulations aimed to protect health, the environment and the climate. The Trump administration’s multipronged actions to favor the oil and gas industry, which went far beyond those of previous administrations, went largely unchecked by the 115th Congress that acquiesced and even abetted its actions. Understanding what the administration did and how it was able to undertake such actions is the first step towards resetting America’s energy and environmental paths.

Type
Chapter
Information
America's Energy Gamble
People, Economy and Planet
, pp. 1 - 14
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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References

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  • Introduction
  • Shanti Gamper-Rabindran, University of Pittsburgh
  • Book: America's Energy Gamble
  • Online publication: 06 January 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009039567.001
Available formats
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Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

  • Introduction
  • Shanti Gamper-Rabindran, University of Pittsburgh
  • Book: America's Energy Gamble
  • Online publication: 06 January 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009039567.001
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Introduction
  • Shanti Gamper-Rabindran, University of Pittsburgh
  • Book: America's Energy Gamble
  • Online publication: 06 January 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009039567.001
Available formats
×