By Thomas Stevenson – The Post Millennial
CBS News’ Gayle King told the channel’s audience that one of the reasons gas prices have been going up is a result of “extreme heat.” President Joe Biden’s policies were not mentioned as a factor.
The CBS Mornings segment aired on Friday morning and King claimed that the rise in gas prices has been due to the heat of the summer. She did not mention any economic policy.
King said that the average price that day was around $3.83, a 30 cent increase from one month ago. “One big factor might surprise you. It seems this summer’s extreme heat is playing a role.”
King’s segment featured interviews by Chris Van Cleave to explain the phenomenon. Van Cleave claimed that the last two months of June and July with “triple digit” temperatures were to blame for shutting down refineries. Policies from the Biden Administration were not dicsussed.
A position taken by the Biden Administration within the last couple of months July includes a proposed rule to increase fees for oil and gas development on public lands. In addition, average prices seemed to take a large jump from March to April, where prices were intially averaging $3.535 before then jumping to $3.711 in April. Through April and July, a slight dip occurred, and average prices went back up to the levels they were in April.
In the month of March, Biden signed off on policy that would start oil projects in Alaska. However, at the same time, it also blocked any future oil projects in the Arctic Ocean and could limit supply down the line.
Before taking office, Biden has campaigned with artists against fracking, vowed to ban drilling on public lands, and made moves against drilling permits after taking office. He has taken an adversarial approach to carbon energy and focuses on climate change as “the existential threat to humanity.”