Every coin has two sides and this executive order seems to have two very extreme sides, both of which will have far-reaching implications on energy and the environment:
American Petroleum Institute
The API President and CEO Jack Gerard called President Trump’s “Energy Independence” executive order an important step forward in restoring common sense regulations that are needed to advance the U.S. energy renaissance.
“Today’s action by President Trump is an important step toward increasing American competitiveness and recognizing that our industry is part of the solution to advancing U.S. economic and national security goals,” said Gerard. “Smart, common sense and science-based guidance and regulations will help our nation’s energy renaissance continue to provide benefits for American consumers, workers and the environment.”
“We look forward to working with the Trump administration and Congress on forward-looking energy policies that will help ensure the United States continues leading the world in the production and refining of oil and natural gas, and in the reduction of carbon emissions."
API is the only national trade association representing all facets of the oil and natural gas industry, which supports 9.8 million U.S. jobs and 8 percent of the U.S. economy.
API | API welcomes the Trump administration’s executive order on Energy Independence
National Parks Conservation Association
Mark Wenzler Senior Vice President of Conservation Programs writes:
President Donald Trump’s new executive order on energy independence ignores one of the worst threats facing our nation and puts Americans, our communities and our beloved public lands in jeopardy.
The sweeping executive order, released today, aims to reverse decades of work that protects people and the environment, including our national parks, from the perils of climate change. Masked as a directive to reduce dependence on energy from other countries, this order directs the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other agencies to rewrite or eliminate critical safeguards for our air, water and climate. Under this new order:
• The Department of the Interior must review and may repeal safety and enforcement standards, known as “9B rules,” that protect more than 40 national parks from the impacts of oil and gas drilling inside their boundaries, including Everglades, Grand Teton and Mesa Verde.
• The EPA must withdraw and rewrite rules that mandate power plants limit carbon dioxide
• The attorney general must stop defending certain measures that would reduce coal plant pollution
• Various agencies may no longer consider the effects of climate change when deciding whether to issue permits for fossil fuel production
• The EPA and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) must put on hold standards for reducing methane pollution from oil and gas operations
The consequences of the executive order are real for our national parks. Already, climate change is dramatically affecting the places Americans cherish, rapidly melting the glaciers at Glacier National Park, driving Joshua trees out of Joshua Tree National Park, and causing sea-level rise that threatens coastal national parks from Acadia to the Everglades.
By reversing sensible policies for reducing climate change, the Trump administration is harming the environment in ways that can affect our communities for generations.
The executive order directs EPA and other agencies to review the policies and practices that could impede the expansion or production of fossil fuel-based energy and report back to the administration. This tasks the agencies responsible for protecting our environment and parks with creating a sweeping account of anything that might restrict or slow down fossil fuel development. The executive order does not give any consideration to the economic, public health and environmental benefits of reducing greenhouse gas pollution or the value of preserving public lands.
Trump’s executive action dramatically halts American progress to combat climate change in ways that can wreak havoc on our people and harm our national parks for generations to come. This reckless action ignores public opinion, science and the needs of communities, and may ultimately leave our children and grandchildren with a more volatile and dangerous future.
We have a responsibility to protect each other and our invaluable natural and cultural heritage. This executive order neglects the real effects climate change has on our nation and tosses the responsibility to deal with the consequences onto the shoulders of future generations.
Sunset over St. Mary Lake at Glacier National Park. The namesake glaciers at this park are rapidly melting as a result of climate change. In 1850, the region had 150 glaciers. There are now just 25 left. Photo © Kan1234/Dreamstime.
CFD’s though usually have a nasty spread and we must take that into account when judging the position of stops and targets - also how much to look for to make the trade risk worth while, e.g. not much point in looking for a 10-pip move if you have to give 5 pips to the broker…
). The MACD also crossed to declare the day’s down side over.
