Opinion: Biden Made A Big Mistake By Planning To End Fracking

Joe Biden, the 46th president of the United States, was sworn in on January 20. As Americans try to get a fresh start after a generally abysmal year, the Biden administration is wasting no time moving ahead with its “build back better” mantra. Since he was sworn in,  Biden has taken over 39 executive actions.

Some controversy surrounds his decisions to allow biologically male athletes compete in women’s sports. Similarly, Biden’s decision to halt construction on the Mexico border wall drew both positive and negative reactions.

Biden’s plan to end fracking, however, might prove to have the largest negative repercussions affecting the working people of the country.

On his first day in office, Biden signed an executive order that would halt construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline. The Canadian-American oil pipeline was given permission to be built by Donald Trump back in 2017. But under our new president, the pipeline must now halt all construction. 

Guy Williams, a would-be inspector of the pipeline project, vented his frustrations on Fox News, saying how disappointed he was with Biden’s decision. This order resulted in the loss of 11,000 jobs. Williams was unsure where the skilled workers would find other jobs.

“I have no idea. I live in a predominantly farming community in the Louisiana Delta land,” Williams told Fox. “There’s basically no industry whatsoever here.”

This decision to stop work on the pipeline alone will cost America around 11,000 jobs, but should the president decide to mandate a nationwide ban of fracking 7.5 million jobs would be lost, the opposite of what the country needs right now.  

The country, and the world, is struggling through a pandemic that is creating a less than ideal economic situation, and in turn closing down businesses and taking away jobs. Job loss has been one of the biggest problems of this pandemic, and by halting construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline, Biden is contributing to this problem, not solving it.

In addition to losing jobs, the fracking ban would also lead to Americans unnecessarily spending more money that they could be saving. By receiving fuel and gasoline internationally rather than domestically, the price of gasoline would increase exponentially. American Energy Alliance stated that by the year 2022, a fracking ban would result in gasoline prices increasing by over 50%, with American households then having to spend an additional $600 every year on energy as a whole.

Last year, the average price per gallon of gasoline was roughly $2.60. If President Biden does move forward on a national fracking ban, the price of gasoline would cost well over three dollars per gallon. If Americans have to spend more than three dollars on a gallon of gas (a necessary item for all Americans), they are getting completely ripped off.

The President’s job should be to put others before himself, and this decision on the Keystone XL Pipeline alone is doing the opposite. By halting construction of the pipeline, Biden is taking away jobs that would easily give 11,000 the ability to pay their bills. And if Biden does go forward on a fracking ban, it would force Americans to spend more money instead of saving it.

Asher Notheis is an Opinion Writer. Follow him on Twitter at @AsherNotheis.

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