From the Cambridge English Dictionary the word Pendulum means: 1. A device consisting of a weight hanging on a rod or cord that moves from one side to the other. 2. (Figuratively) Power or control of an activity that changes from one group to another.
So the pendulum swings as if on cue President Biden on his first day in office signed multiple executive orders swinging the pendulum on energy related matters diametrically opposite that of his predecessor.
“So the pendulum swings, now violently, now slowly; and every institution not only carries within it the seeds of dissolution, but prepares the way for its most hated rival.” William Ralph Inge
President Biden immediately renewed the United States participation in the Paris Accord and recommitted the country to collaborate on a global scale to combat the impacts of global warming.
As reported in Reuters, “We got off track very severely for the last four years with a climate denier in the Oval Office,” said John Podesta, an Obama adviser who helped craft the 2015 Paris Agreement. “We have a credibility deficit.”
“The United States continues to be the one and only country that has withdrawn from the Paris Agreement, making it, frankly, the pariah of this multilateral agreement,” said former U.N. climate chief Christiana Figueres.
Pete Betts, at London-based think tank Chatham House who led climate negotiations for the European Union said the United States will need to match its promises with financial commitments. The US under Obama pledged $3 billion to the Green Climate Fund. It has delivered only $1 billion. “The U.S. will need to put some money on the table, and also encourage others to do so,” he said.
“Politics is a pendulum whose swings between anarchy and tyranny are fueled by perennially rejuvenated illusions”. Albert Einstein
The president put a hold on oil and gas leasing activity in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and temporarily suspended oil and gas leasing and permitting on federal lands and waters.
Reuters reported Alaska’s Republican Governor Mike Dunleavy mocked Biden’s decision to shut down oil and gas work in the ANWR, saying the new president “appears to be making good on his promise to turn Alaska into a large national park.” The order was welcomed by environmentalists and derided by the oil and gas industry. Oil and gas industry trade groups swiftly issued statements condemning the pause. “With this move, the administration is leading us toward more reliance on foreign energy from countries with lower environmental standards,” API President Mike Sommers said.”The pendulum of the mind oscillates between sense and nonsense, not between right or wrong.” Carl Jung “Memories Dreams and Reflections
The president also unceremoniously revoked an essential permit for the Keystone EL oil pipeline project from Canada. Canceling the pipeline fulfills a campaign promise, but it would seem much more prudent to engage in a comprehensive review. According to Politico, American Petroleum Institute (API), the nation’s top oil and gas industry lobby group, meanwhile, said it believed blocking the Keystone XL oil pipeline was a “step backward.” “This misguided move will hamper America’s economic recovery, undermine North American energy security and strain relations with Canada one of America’s greatest allies,” API President Mike Sommers said.
Biden’s move made environmental activists ecstatic. The drive to kill the XL pipeline, became a defining issue for a new generation of environmental groups. Pipeline activists, along with Native American tribes and landowners angry over pipeline routing, had been fighting the project from the beginning.
“Opinion is like a pendulum and obeys the same law. If it goes past the center of gravity on one side, it must go a like distance on the other, and it is only after a certain time that it finds the true point at which it can remain at rest. Arthur Schopenhauer Vol. 2 Further Psychological Observations”. Some Western state GOP senators plan to soon introduce legislation allowing construction on Keystone XL to continue. They will need help from the Democrats. “President Biden’s executive order will rob both American and Canadian workers of good-paying jobs,” Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso said in a statement Wednesday. Canadian officials are disappointed, they thought they would at least have an opportunity to present their case, arguing the environmental aspects of the project have greatly improved since 2008. So as we try to make sense of all this, the pendulum swings. “No matter how far the ideological pendulum swings in the short term, in the end the bedrock commonsense of the American people will prevail.” Charles Krauthammer – Column, January 29, 2010.