Since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine started, many have worried about the devastating impacts this will have on the environment. Loud explosions have been happening all over the country, and fire and clouds of smoke can be seen everywhere. Many are even reporting that the sky is red from all of the explosions.

The invasion of Ukraine is causing more environmental problems throughout the world than we may think. Russia has a significant influence on global oil, and the natural gas markets have been upended by the invasion of Ukraine. Many are saying Putin has weaponized fossil fuels, mainly gas.

When Putin’s invasion happened, the United States was still importing over 500,000 barrels of oil a day from Russia, and the price of gasoline has skyrocketed. The Ukraine invasion is predicted to disrupt supply to the world.

On Tuesday, March 1st, 2022, President Biden made a State of the Union speech, but it was not what many thought it would be. He was expected to talk about his climate goals but barely mentioned them. He has made promises to make climate issues the primary driver of his presidency but has failed to do so.

Oil and gas prices are skyrocketing throughout the world, and the U.S. and Europe have been struggling to cut ties with the Russian fuel supply. Cutting ties would leave space to boost their own renewable energy sources.

The importance we put on Russia’s energy sector and not on our own energy production has left us unable to quickly replace Russia’s energy with our own. In turn, this has just given Putin more power in the situation, and many claim that these are factors that he certainly would have calculated into his plan.

Russia supplies nearly 40% of the gas that Europeans use for heat and electricity. The war on Ukraine is forcing Europe to consider if they should find a new supplier or move away from fossil fuel dependence. Next week officials in Brussels are expected to announce a new plan for energy sources.

The war has led to a demand for increased drilling in the United States, which has devastating consequences on the environment. These activities to obtain oil and gas drive heat waves, Global warming, wildfires, and rising sea levels. However, Republicans are saying that the invasion means that we should drill for more oil in the United States.

This comes just days after the United Nations released a report that is the most exhaustive look yet at the dire threats Global warming poses to human civilization. The report warned about the planet’s warming and encouraged world leaders to reduce emissions that are heating the earth.

In his speech, Biden announced he would release 30 million barrels of oil in the reserves to keep the prices down for Americans. However, he is still not addressing these problems. The energy sources that we are using today are not sustainable, and we need to be working towards only renewable energy sources.

This week, a monumental Supreme Court case led by major oil companies was heard that would limit the government’s ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, which would set us back even further.

Many energy experts were hoping Biden would take this time to cut ties with the U.S.’s massive economic reliance on fossil fuels.

“The president did not articulate the long-term opportunity for the U.S. to lead the world in breaking free of the geopolitical nightmare that is oil dependency,” said Paul Bledsoe, a strategic adviser to the Progressive Policy Institute.

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Related Content:

• How Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine Harms The Environment
• The U.S Supreme Court Will Hear a Huge Climate Change Case
• How Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine Affects American Energy
• A Recent Study Finds Corn-Based Ethanol is Worse for the Climate than Gasoline
• Lawsuit Filed After Biden’s Administration Opens Mexico Gulf Coast for Oil and Gas Leasing
• Petition: Stand with International Energy Agency to Stop Fossil Fuel Production

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