Radical environmentalists who want to “keep it in the ground”–the “it” being fossil fuels–are emboldened by the actions of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Cuomo, you may recall, effectively blocked and stopped in its tracks the federally-approved Constitution Pipeline, in April 2016 (see NY Gov. Cuomo Refuses to Grant Permits for Constitution Pipeline). Radicals who want to block all fossil fuel pipelines are using Cuomo’s example as their “new” strategy to stop shale drilling. If there are no pipelines, there’s no drilling–it’s that simple. We find liberal antis’ embrace of “states rights” to be highly hypocritical. These radicals, many (most) of whom are socialists, LOVE LOVE LOVE big government. The bigger the better. But when big government (i.e. the feds) doesn’t do what the radicals wants it to do, the radicals then embrace small government–decentralizing regulatory authority and pushing it down the state and local level. Radicals are using the Cuomo strategy of denying Clean Water Act water permits to pressure other governors, like Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam and Oregon Gov. Kate Brown–both extreme Democrat liberals. We spotted an National Public Radio column exploring antis’ new-found love of state’s rights. We have a few more thoughts about this issue…
