President’s Message Rikki Hrenko-Browning In Act 2, Scene 2 of Hamlet, Hamlet says, “The play’s the thing / Wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the king.” In case it’s been too long since high school English class, here’s the context: Hamlet seeks to stage a play to help confirm his suspicions that his uncle Claudius killed his father. Dramatic presentations allow for an expression of ideas taboo or dangerous in direct conversation or other forms of communication. Essentially, Hamlet can outright accuse his uncle of murder in the context of a play and then watch his reaction to it. That reaction will inform Hamlet’s understanding of his uncle’s innocence or guilt. The Russian invasion of Ukraine does not pose an immediate existential threat to the United States in the way it does to the people and institutions of Ukraine. While the ripple ef fects of this invasion have been and will continue to be, felt here and throughout the world for a long time to come, in practical terms, we watch the events unfold from afar and react with shock, horror, and dismay. One impact felt perhaps more virulently than any other is the dramatic increase in the cost of energy, which has ripple ef fects that travel far and wide, touching nearly every aspect of our daily lives. Were you to look it up, here is the definition of theater of war in the dictionary: “the entire land, sea, and air area that is or may become involved directly in war operations.” That’s Ukraine. If you look up the term theater in the dictionary, its definition is “a building or area for dramatic performances.” When it comes to addressing the problem of rising energy costs, that’s Washington, D.C. As the theater of war continues to play out half a world away, we cannot help but be dismayed by the energy policy theater of the current administration. Half-measures are enacted, short-term fixes are deployed, and nods and feints in the direction of real action are pantomimed, but real solutions remain fixed in opaque purgatory, wondering if they’ll ever see the light of day. The inconvenient truth this administration must face is that the only action that will make a material difference in the long-term cost of energy, with the added benefits of economic prosperity and domestic energy security, is increased domestic energy production. That’s it. The United States produces more oil and natural gas than any other country on earth and does so with significantly fewer emissions and impacts. The fact is we can produce more for our own use and ship fuel to our allies, which would help decrease Russia’s leverage over vulnerable parts of the world and our geopolitical goals. In a vacuum, this is uncomplicated. Of course, we do not live in a vacuum; we live in a world where President Biden promised to transition the country away from the use of fossil fuels and a world where his team carries out actions designed to stifle the industry. In this world, President Biden ordered a release from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to help bring down gas prices, begged other 6 UPDATE
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