If you wonder why energy prices are soaring, consider the fact that, to drill offshore, an oil company must comply with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, the Clean Air Act of 1970, the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, the Endangered Species Act of 1973, the Clean Water Act of 1977, not to mention any local or state regulations that may apply. Or consider the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, which could only open in 1977 after the owners obtained 515 federal permits and 832 state permits. As another example of the burdens placed on energy producers, it took one company, Arizona Clean Fuels, seven years just to get a permit to build a refinery, primarily because of environmental regulations. And after thirteen years of planning, it had yet to break ground.
Rather than castigate energy companies, we should salute the Herculean effort they go through to make our lives better.