California’s net-zero emissions plan is a ‘national security’ risk for America

California's environmental regulations have driven up costs for oil and gas operations, further limiting in-state production. The Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) and Cap-and-Trade program add significant expenses, with LCFS compliance costing refiners $0.15–$0.20 per gallon and Cap-and-Trade allowances totaling $150–$200 million annually for the industry per the California Air Resources BoardCap-and-Trade Program Data. Permitting delays and environmental reviews also burdens producers, with compliance costs up to $500,000 per well. These costs have contributed to a 40% drop in California's oil production since 2000, accelerating refinery closures and increasing reliance on foreign oil, heightening national security risks.

Fuel demand from in-state refineries:

California transportation fuel demands for airports, trucks, and cars have staggering numbers:

• Jet fuel: With all its 145 airports, including 9 international airports and 41 military airports, the demand is 13 million gallons of aviation fuel daily. Several of those airports have direct pipelines to local refineries. In 2019, California consumed 16.7% of the national total of jet fuel, making it the largest consumer of jet fuel in America.
• Diesel: Diesel fuel is the second largest transportation fuel used in California, consuming 10 million gallons a day of diesel to support the state's is trucking of products from 3 of the busiest shipping ports in America.
• Gasoline: For its 30 million vehicles, California is the second-largest consumer of motor gasoline among the 50 states consuming 42 million gallons a day of gasoline, just behind Texas. Gasoline is just 1 of the more than 6,000 products made from fossil fuels to meet the materialistic demands of societies and economies.
• Arizona and Nevada: California refineries supply 45% of Arizona's and 88% of Nevada's transportation fuel demands for their airports, trucks, and cars so any disruption in California impacts all three states.

In the more immediate term, China has plans for multiple new refineries, with at least five projects expected to be completed by 2028, and another three new refineries by 2030, contributing to a broader shift towards integrated petrochemical facilities. These eight new Asian refineriescoming online by 2030 are a reality that China will be coming to the rescue to meet the transportation fuel demands of California!

California has almost 400,000 miles of roadwaysused by the State's 30 million vehicles. Those roadways are heavily dependent on road taxes from fuels that contribute more than $8.8 billion annually, for planning, constructing, and maintaining California's publicly funded roadways. The same gas tax revenues that also funds many environmental programs and the high-speed rail project.

That $8.8 billion revenue source from fuel taxes will diminish in the years ahead as heavier EV's are being mandated in California to replace the lighter internal combustion engine vehicles. Fuel taxes that contribute to the $8.8 billion to maintain the roads are a result of California having the highest gas taxes in the USA.

Over the last several decades, California's passion totransition away from fossil fuels has overregulated and overly burdened just the SUPPLY of oil production and refining but has not reduced the increasing materialistic DEMANDS of the State for the more than 6,000 products and transportation fuels made from those fossil fuels. Thus, China is savoring the future with their many refineries coming online to meet the DEMANDS of California.

California has obviously not learned much in the 50 years since the Oil Embargo of 1973, as the following persist:

• Rather than increase crude oil production from its terminal decline in California, Governor Gavin Newsom supports importing oil from foreign countries to meet the demands of Californians, and remains oblivious that maritime transport, including oil tankers, is estimated to contribute about 3% of global GHG emissions and 27% of freight transport emissions.
• California, the 4^th largest economy in the world, was virtually independent of foreign oil imports in 1973, relying on just 5% of crude oil imports to meet the demands of the State. But due to its relentless regulations and restrictions over the last 50 years to reduce in-state oil production the State now imports more than 70% of its crude oil demand from foreign countries like Ecuador, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Colombia to run the States' 9 International airports, 41 Military airports, and 3 of the largest shipping ports in America.

Not only does California's la-la land have a miniscule impact on worldwide emissions but is a national security risk to the entire United States of America due to its growing dependance on refineries in China to meet the humongous demands for transportation fuels to support the demands of the States' international and military airports, and the diesel fuel to support the demands for trucking of the products received at three of the busiest terminals in America to the rest of the country.