California Governor Newsom remains oblivious to the economy’s demands for a supply chain of products and transportation fuels currently derived from fossil fuels. He seems unaware that so-called renewables like wind and solar CANNOT make any products or fuels for society, as they can ONLY generate electricity under favorable weather conditions.
Supply chain of PRODUCTS and FUELS that wind and solar CANNOT support
Today, we’re a materialistic society. Wind and solar CANNOT make EVs, or any of the products or fuels that get made from fossil fuels that support:
- Hospitals
- Airports
- Military
- Medical equipment
- Telecommunications
- Communications systems
- Space programs
- Appliances
- Heating and ventilating
- Transportation – road, rail, ocean, and air
- Construction – roads and buildings
- Nearly Half the World’s Population Relies on Synthetic Fertilizers Made from Fossil Fuels
More importantly, the greatest threat to humanity is running out of crude oil and the refineries that process that raw black tar, before we have an alternative to meet the supply chain of all the products and transportation fuels that are derived from oil.
The rapid cessation of fossil fuel use, if followed through before we have an alternative replacement for the supply chain of products and fuels being demanded by society, is not just a policy misstep; it’s a death sentence for half the planet.
California transportation FUEL DEMANDS that wind and solar CANNOT support
California transportation fuel demands for airports, ships, cars, and trucks have staggering numbers from the in-state refineries:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 trucking of products from 3 of the busiest shipping ports in America
- Arizona and Nevada: California refineries supply 45% of Arizona’s and 88% of Nevada’s transportation fuel demands for their airports, cars, and trucks, so any disruption in California impacts all three states.
California has almost 400,000 miles of roadways used 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 also fund 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 EVs are being mandated in California to replace the lighter internal combustion engine vehicles.
California transportation FUEL TAXES that wind and solar CANNOT support
California has obviously not learned much in the 50 years since the Oil Embargo of 1973, as the following persist:
California, the 4th largest economy in the world, was virtually independent of foreign oil imports in 1973, but due to its relentless regulations to reduce in-state oil production the State now imports more than 70% of its crude oil demand to run the States’ 9 International airports, 41 Military airports, and 3 of the largest shipping ports in America.
Economically, refiners face a shrinking return on investment. With the California 2035 ban on new internal combustion vehicles looming and EV adoption slowly rising, in-state refiners have little long-term incentive to invest in expanding production. In fact, many are choosing to exit the market or repurpose facilities for renewable fuels rather than double down on gasoline. As a result, the remaining refiners are unlikely or unable to ramp up production to backfill lost supply, leaving California more reliant on imported, California-compliant gasoline from out-of-state or foreign sources, which is slower and more expensive to procure.
Just last year, in October 2024, Phillips 66 announced that it would close its Wilmington-area refining complex this year, which will further reduce the state’s gasoline, diesel, and aviation fuels production capacity, wiping out more than 8% of the state’s crude oil processing capacity. Losing another 1.3 billion gallons in annual gasoline output will only worsen the state’s supply challenges to meet the demands.
The recent announcement that the Valero Benica Refinery in Northern California will be closing by the end of 2026 was disappointing, but shockingly, a prelude to more closures in the future. The Valero refinery at Benicia represents almost 9% of the state’s crude oil processing capacity to meet the materialistic demands of the state’s residents.
Over the last several decades, California’s push to transition away from fossil fuels has overregulated and overly burdened 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 its many refineries coming online to meet the demands of California.
Governor Newsom’s policies, just on the “supply” side of the equation, continue to force California, the 4th largest economy in the world, to be the only state in contiguous America that imports most of its crude oil demands from foreign countries. California crude oil production is in terminal decline, driven by the lack of drilling permits, despite ample reserves. That dependence on foreign imports has increased imported crude oil from foreign countries from 5 percent in 1992 to more than 70 percent today of total consumption demand.
“Net Zero” policymakers setting “green” policies are oblivious to the reality that so-called “renewables” only generate electricity but cannot make anything. In addition, everything that needs electricity, like iPhones and computers, is made with petrochemicals manufactured from crude oil, coal, or natural gas.
Under Gavin Newsom’s lack of energy literacy leadership, the number of Californians fleeing the once-Golden State has been accelerating.
California Governor Newsom remains unaware that electricity came after oil, as all electrical generation methods, from hydro to coal, natural gas, nuclear, wind, and solar, are built with products, components, and equipment made from oil derivatives manufactured from crude oil.
Without crude oil, there can be no electricity!
