The Fossil Fuel industry, their shareholders, their lobbyists, and the state and federal legislators who pass laws that benefit that industry in exchange for campaign contributions. It is definitely not the public. And, given that Congress has seen fit to remove export restrictions for that industry, much of the gas will be exported, not used domestically. So Americans are allowing their land, air, and water to be potentially irreparably damaged, to benefit countries far away. Less and less of those countries like us now, and that number continues to increase, not diminish, as our policies and actions
Don’t be fooled by propaganda that pretends we have to frack everywhere to become energy independent, or we have to for the security and safety of our country. Reducing the world’s dependence on fossil fuels means that less and less money goes to countries who by-and-large- do not like us.
There are alternatives to fossil fuels that are viable today. Read the stories of housing communities in Florida being built to use only solar energy. Or the cities being run on of solar energy. Or the countries whose energy dependence on fossil fuels is diminishing every day, as wind turbines offshore proliferate and replace gas/coal/nuclear power sources.
Renewable energy. That energy source can be home-grown; and, all by itself, it would make the US energy independent. It would dramatically improve the planet’s outlook for the future, if we reduced the amount of Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) we release into an already-overburdened ocean and atmosphere.
We are forfeiting our leadership role in the world. China is striking out forcefully and quickly in that direction, knowing that coal in the ground means future energy reserves, and far less air, water, and land pollution. Why are we turning our backs on the future? Why are we ceding the future to a country where civil liberties don’t exist?