Net Zero Has Done More Harm to the West—and the Atmosphere—While Benefiting China

How a policy sold as climate leadership transferred industrial power, energy security, and emissions to Beijing. David Blackmon put it as bluntly as anyone in energy journalism has: every facet of the West’s net-zero obsession and taxpayer-subsidized “energy transition” is designed, in practice, to benefit one country. That country is China. On September 20, 2026, […]

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Middle East Escalation Meets China’s Return: Dual Chokepoints, Record Tanker Rates, and an Upward Spiral in Crude and Products

The Middle East energy map tightened sharply over the past week even as China resumed heavier crude buying. Houthi forces seized key Red Sea positions including Mocha and Perim Island, tightening control over the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and targeting Saudi-linked vessels. Drones originating from Iraq struck Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline, prompting a precautionary shutdown of […]

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Diesel and Refining Capacity Set to be the Inflationary Impact The Fed Can’t Control

The Federal Reserve can raise rates. The Treasury can issue bills. Neither institution can weld a crude distillation unit back together after a drone strike, add inches to a California products pipeline, or refill Gatun Lake. That is the story of September 2026: crude is still findable; diesel is not. The constraint has moved downstream, […]

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U.S. fuel prices have climbed to their highest levels since the Iran war began in late February, with diesel setting fresh all-time records and wholesale costs now exceeding the peaks seen before the first ceasefires.

How high they go from here, and how long they stay elevated, depends less on crude alone than on a global refining system that is already running near its limits. Energy analyst John Kemp noted Wednesday that the combined cost of U.S. crude and refining margins is now higher than in early April. So far […]

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China Crude Buying Jumps, and Fuel Exports Jump 29% – Jeff Curry is Spot On. It’s about the lack of refining capacity.

Chinese refiners are stepping back into the crude market while flooding product markets with extra gasoline and diesel, just as the rest of the world is running short of both barrels and refining capacity. August data show crude imports rising 6.2% from July to 8.93 million barrels per day, while refined product exports jumped 29% […]

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Ohio Business Lobby Pushes Eminent Domain Reforms That Critics Say Could Enable Faster Land Takings for Data Center Infrastructure on Farmland — Raising Serious Property Rights Concerns

Ohio farmers and property rights advocates are sounding the alarm over a recommendation from the powerful Ohio Business Roundtable (OBRT) to reform the state’s eminent domain laws. The proposal would allow faster “possession” and construction on private land for energy infrastructure projects once a court establishes public use and necessity — even while compensation disputes […]

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