Trying to match former President Donald Trump’s popular call for US energy independence, Vice President Kamala Harris has said she is dropping her demand to ban drilling for gas, but a campaign adviser says she won't promote fossil fuel.
Harris has appointed Camila Thorndike, who worked as climate engagement director for an activist organisation Rewiring America which campaigned for even banning gas stoves, as her campaign's climate adviser.
Thorndike has been on its staff from 2022 to last month.
Sensing the nation’s mood on getting more fossil fuels, Harris has said that she is dropping her demand for banning an economical method of drilling for natural gas known as fracking.
But Thorndike threw doubts about her sincerity telling Politico in an interview that Harris “is not promoting expansion (of fossil fuel drilling). She’s just said that they wouldn’t ban fracking”.
The head of the American Energy Institute, Jason Isaac, accused Harris of harbouring hostility towards several energy sources.
He told Fox News Digital that Harris’ decision to bring on Thorndike "underscores her administration’s hostility towards American energy sources that power our economy and support millions of jobs”.
Thorndike admitted in the Politico interview that “everyone wants their energy bills to go down. Everyone wants the electric grid to keep the lights on”.
However, banning or restricting fossil fuel expansion will lead to higher prices, a point Trump has been making.
With the slogan of "Drill Baby, Drill", he has said that he would expand drilling for gas and oil so that the abundant supply would bring down energy prices, which would have a cascading effect on the prices of all other products as they depend on energy for manufacturing or transportation.
Gas used for cooking is less polluting than many other fuels, including electricity produced with coal or oil.
However, groups like Rewiring America target gas as polluting, even though the US relies on coal -- which is highly polluting -- for 16 per cent of its electricity which in effect ends up more polluting than gas.
The group is called a “dark money” organisation because its financial structure limits disclosures of most sources of funding.
According to Fox Digital, it was founded by those with financial interests in wind and solar.
Trump lowers levies on countries like India for not retaliating
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced a lower rate of 10 per cent for 90 days in reciprocal tariffs for trading partner countries that have not retaliated with higher levies on American goods — such as India — and further hiked the levy on China to 125 per cent for hitting back.
HM Shah says Rana’s extradition a major diplomatic win for Modi govt
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has lauded the extradition of Tahawwur Hussain Rana, a key accused in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, as a defining triumph for the administration of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Tripura govt committed to preserving old culture, tradition: CM Saha
Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on Wednesday said that the BJP government is working to preserve old culture and tradition like Putul Khela (doll game), Jatra (folk theatre) and Natak (drama).
Long arm of law eventually catches up with 26/11 plotter Tahawwur Rana
The proverbial long arm of the law has eventually caught up with Pakistani-Canadian businessman Tahawwur Hussain Rana, the co-conspirator of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks that killed 165 people and wounded over 300 in 2008.
No end in sight to Dhaka's growing rhetoric, India ends trans-shipment facility for Bangladesh
Citing "significant congestion" at its airports and ports, India on Tuesday said that it has terminated a trans-shipment facility available to Bangladesh that allowed Dhaka to export cargo to third countries using Indian customs stations.
5 terrorists trapped in two ongoing gunfights in J&K's Udhampur and Kishtwar
Five terrorists were reportedly trapped in two gunfights going on in Udhampur and Kishtwar districts of J&K on Wednesday, officials said.
Violence, atrocities against minorities in Bangladesh cannot simply be wished away: MEA
India on Wednesday once again raised concerns over the persecution of minorities in Bangladesh, hoping that the interim government in the country led by Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus will take strong action against the perpetrators of violence.
NPCI to decide on person-to-merchant payments cap on UPI transactions: RBI
In order to further boost digital payments, the National Payments Corporation of India will be enabled to set the limit on person-to-merchants transactions via Unified Payments Interface (UPI), RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said on Wednesday.