Climate Catastrophism and the Assault on Affordable Energy

On Wednesday, July 26, 2023, Kim Monson welcomed energy industry leader Bob Boswell and sixth-generation farmer Trent Loos to examine how climate change policies threaten affordable energy and rural property rights across Colorado and America.

Exposing Climate Catastrophism’s False Premise

Start listening at 31:36 – Hour 1

Bob Boswell, CEO of Laramie Energy, systematically dismantled the political weaponization of climate change fears. Drawing from decades of experience in Colorado’s Piceance Basin, Boswell explained that while human activity contributes slightly to temperature increases of less than two degrees, the effect remains far from catastrophic. The real damage comes from regulations that raise energy costs and hurt those at the bottom of the economic ladder.

Boswell contrasted America’s energy abundance with Europe’s policy-driven decline, noting that European GDP fell from 22% to 18% of world output while embracing climate mandates. Natural gas prices there spiked from $6 to as high as $50 during the Ukraine conflict. Colorado faces similar regulatory overreach, with the state imposing water tracking requirements on oil and gas operations despite freshwater use representing less than 1% of state consumption.

“But it’s certainly not the catastrophic fear element that’s being used politically to increase the cost of energy and try to push us into what are renewables. Renewables are a good source of energy, but they’re a supplement, not a replacement simply because of the energy density.”

Bob Boswell, CEO of Laramie Energy

Property Rights Under Siege Through Easements and Foreign Ownership

Start listening at 71:03 – Hour 2

Trent Loos warned listeners about a dangerous contradiction in a recent Senate vote on foreign land ownership. The 92-7 vote appeared to oppose China, North Korea, Iran, and Russia purchasing American farmland, but buried within the amendment was a provision requiring presidential approval rather than state control. Rand Paul stood as the only Republican voting against what Loos characterized as federal overreach.

The deeper threat, Loos explained, lies in perpetual easements that strip landowners of property rights forever. CO2 pipeline easements contain no restrictions preventing their sale to foreign entities. Meanwhile, property taxes in Nebraska have increased 243% over 11 years, with the first $120 from every calf produced going directly to pay those taxes before any other expense. Loos founded the Free Soil Coalition to combat these encroachments, arguing that reform must happen at the county level rather than waiting for state capitals to act.

“In our home state of Nebraska, our property tax, Kelly and I, has gone up in the past 11 years by 243%.”

Trent Loos, Sixth Generation Farmer and Rancher