The Trump administration has made “achieving American energy dominance” a central policy goal. President Trump asserts that “energy dominance” requires expanding nuclear development, increasing coal and natural gas exports, building transnational pipelines and accessing offshore oil and gas deposits. These efforts, Trump contends, will maximize the nation’s “boundless capacity” for energy production, including spreading U.S. fossil fuels around the globe, to showcase its independence from foreign oil

de Onis, Catalina M.

English

University of Montana

Academic rigor, journalistic flairFor many in Puerto Rico, ‘energy dominance’ is just a newname for US colonialismPublished: August 21, 2017 9:59pm EDTCatalina de OnisAssistant Professor of Civic Communication and Media, Willamette UniversityThe Trump administration has made “achieving American energy dominance” a central policy goal.President Trump asserts that “energy dominance” requires expanding nuclear development,increasing coal and natural gas exports, building transnational pipelines and accessing offshore oiland gas deposits. These efforts, Trump contends, will maximize the nation’s “boundless capacity” forenergy production, including spreading U.S. fossil fuels around the globe, to showcase itsindependence from foreign oil.My research studies how expansionist efforts play out in the U.S. unincorporated territory of PuertoRico. For centuries, Spanish and U.S. colonial governments and corporations have practiced whatcould be called “energy dominance” by harnessing human labor and fossil fuels to exploit localresources through mining, coffee and sugarcane development, and other industries. Puerto Rico’shistory makes clear that Trump’s policy, which benefits corporations and their political allies to thedetriment of local communities, promises more of the same.This 1899 drawing depicts Uncle Sam disciplining his newly acquiredpupils/possessions, including Puerto Rico, following the Treaty of Paris. Library ofCongress12/2/24, 12:54 PM For many in Puerto Rico, ‘energy dominance’ is just a new name for US colonialismhttps://theconversation.com/for-many-in-puerto-rico-energy-dominance-is-just-a-new-name-for-us-colonialism-80243 1/4Fueling energy colonialismThe United States seized control of Puerto Rico in 1898. Like other imperial powers, the United Statesjustified exploiting other people and places by portraying them as backward and promising tomodernize them.Many U.S. government officials, legal experts, researchers and artists assumed that colonized peopleswere inferior. In their view, African and indigenous ancestries and prior colonization by Spain markedpeople who lived in the newly acquired “possessions” as primitive, childlike and weak.In his 1899 book “Our Islands and Their People,” writer and diplomat José de Olivares stated,“Without our fostering benevolence, this island [Puerto Rico] would be as unhappy andprostrate as are some of the neighboring British, French, Dutch, and Danish islands.”During this same period, Supreme Court justices described U.S. colonies as home to “uncivilized” and “savage” “alien races.” Racist claims of U.S. superiority and goodwill drove colonial policy andrelationships of dependency.Locked into fossil fuelU.S. imperial ambitions prompted politicians to position Puerto Rico as a showcase for capitalism inLatin America. In the 1940s Puerto Rican Governor Luis Muñoz Marín and U.S. government officialsimplemented a massive industrialization plan called Operation Bootstrap.The program used tax breaks, duty-free trade, exploitable local labor, natural resources and cheapforeign crude oil and electricity prices to attract investors. Manufacturing, pharmaceutical and oil-based industries flocked to Puerto Rico.Beginning in the 1970s, however, these incentives decreased. As tax exemptions expired and wagestandards rose, numerous companies left Puerto Rico. The net effect of Operation Bootstrap was toaggravate economic inequality and unemployment and contribute to the territory’s debt andenvironmental crises.Currently the territory’s unemployment rate fluctuates between 10 and 12 percent. The legacies ofrapid industrialization include polluted landscapes and heavy reliance on oil.Puerto Rico generates almost all of its electricity from fossil fuels. About 50 percent comes from oil.Puerto Ricans pay rates two to three times higher for electricity than continental U.S. residents. Theyalso experience blackouts and other power disruptions caused by the grid’s aging infrastructure. Abankrupt public energy utility is largely responsible for these daily hardships.The Commonwealth Oil Refinery in Peñuelas, seen here from a highway, symbolizes the legacy ofOperation Bootstrap. Catalina de Onís, CC BY-ND12/2/24, 12:54 PM For many in Puerto Rico, ‘energy dominance’ is just a new name for US colonialismhttps://theconversation.com/for-many-in-puerto-rico-energy-dominance-is-just-a-new-name-for-us-colonialism-80243 2/4Fast-forwarding energy projectsIn 2011 Puerto Rican government officials began describing local energy challenges as an “energy emergency.” They used this framing to structure policy and sway public support for natural gasprojects.One example, the Vía Verde pipeline, was designed to deliver natural gas to northern Puerto Rico.Advocates claimed the project would reduce oil imports and lower electricity bills. Opponents of thiswidely unpopular proposal raised concerns about endangered species, heritage sites, human health,misleading financial benefits and the dismissal of renewable alternatives.In 2012 the project was defeated by a broad-based coalition of local community members and PuertoRicans in the U.S. diaspora. However, the Aguirre Offshore GasPort quickly emerged as analternative. The GasPort would receive liquefied natural gas shipments from the United States anddeliver the gas to shore via an underwater pipeline. Some nearby residents argue that the project willharm local fishers, wildlife and coral reefs. They also are worried about potential pipeline breaks andspills.Excelerate Energy, the U.S.-based company planning to build the GasPort, connects speed, which itcalls “energy fast forward”, with progress on its website to promote liquefied natural gas technology.However, the GasPort project ignores calls for local control of sustainable, renewable energy.Earlier this month Excelerate withdrew its contract with Puerto Rico’s public energy utility because itis bankrupt. Excelerate claims it plans to move forward with required regulatory agencies to developthe project, and received support when the Puerto Rico Supreme Court ruled against a petition bygrassroots group el Comité Diálogo Ambiental to invalidate the project’s environmental impactstatement.This accelerated approach is advanced by the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and EconomicStability Act (PROMESA, meaning “promise” in Spanish), enacted in 2016. The measure created acontrol board to impose austerity measures, and also authorizes fast-tracking of critical energy projects.Critics, including energy experts and environmental justice activists, argue that while Puerto Ricocertainly faces energy emergencies, the government is encouraging rushed project impact reviews thatinhibit democratic engagement and renewable alternatives.Energy expansionismThe Jobos Bay Marine Reserve on Puerto Rico’s south coast contains vast mangrove forests, seagrassbeds and coral reefs. The proposed Aguirre GasPort would be located near Jobos Bay. Víctor AlvaradoGuzmán, CC BY-ND12/2/24, 12:54 PM For many in Puerto Rico, ‘energy dominance’ is just a new name for US colonialismhttps://theconversation.com/for-many-in-puerto-rico-energy-dominance-is-just-a-new-name-for-us-colonialism-80243 3/4These controversies reflect struggles elsewhere against accelerated project development that deniesself-determination. The Standing Rock Sioux and their allies confronted similar challenges whenPresident Trump reversed President Obama’s decision to block the Dakota Access Pipeline. In June2017 a federal court ruled the Trump administration had cut numerous corners in a review of thepipeline’s environmental impacts.The fast-forward approach also is used by Fueling U.S. Forward, an organization funded byconservative billionaires Charles and David Koch. The group has targeted low-income communitiesand people of color, arguing that they are most impacted by energy price fluctuations and should haveconsistent access to fossil fuels. This strategy, which environmental justice advocates have describedas “exploitative, sad and borderline racist,” obscures that these same communities aredisproportionately burdened by pollution and environmental hazards, many linked to fossil fuelproduction and use.Many Puerto Ricans oppose the continued use of their environment as a sacrifice zone for energycolonialism. For example, opposition to illegal coal ash dumping in the southern town of Peñuelascontinues to intensify. Activists have used tactics including an encampment and a silent protest.The University of Puerto Rico’s National Institute of Energy and Island Sustainability is working tofoster democratic modes of engagement for developing a sustainable, renewable energy future. As acollaborator with local organizers, I have learned from residents who hope to achieve Puerto Rico’sfirst community-designed and -managed solar project in the town of Coquí.These struggles for community control and climate and energy justice show that many Puerto Ricansreject continued reliance on fossil fuel to power their lives. In an encouraging sign, Puerto Rico’selectric utility has just announced plans to add 240 megawatts of large-scale solar generation by 2019.Meanwhile, with the International Energy Agency predicting that the United States will become a top gas exporter, discussions of “energy dominance” and other related rhetoric will become increasinglyrelevant. These terms echo both past and present expansionist endeavors. The Trumpadministration’s policies are just the newest chapter.Community youth and leader Ruth Santiago participate in an environmental education camp in Aguirre,Puerto Rico. Events like this annual gathering demonstrate community-level interest in environmentalprotection and environmental justice. Catalina de Onís, CC BY-ND12/2/24, 12:54 PM For many in Puerto Rico, ‘energy dominance’ is just a new name for US colonialismhttps://theconversation.com/for-many-in-puerto-rico-energy-dominance-is-just-a-new-name-for-us-colonialism-80243 4/4

For many in Puerto Rico, ‘energy dominance’ is just a newname for US colonialism

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For many in Puerto Rico, ‘energy dominance’ is just a newname for US colonialism

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