California Finally Admits It Needs Oil, But Still Can’t Kick the Climate Theater
California Democrats just did something they swore they’d never do: pass a bill to expand oil production, according to The Los Angeles Times.
Over the weekend, Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislative leaders rammed through a deal that green-lights up to 2,000 new oil wells a year in Kern County through 2036. Why? Because their “green transition” fantasy is colliding with reality. Gas prices are soaring, refineries are closing, and families can’t afford the eco-left’s utopian experiment anymore.
Even Assemblymember Lori Wilson (D-Suisun City) admitted the obvious:
“Directly increasing domestic production of crude oil and lowering our reliance on imports will help stabilize the market — it will help create and save jobs.”
Exactly. California is bleeding refining capacity, with crude output collapsing 15% annually, far faster than demand is falling. That’s a recipe for higher prices and fewer jobs unless you let the people of Kern County do what they do best: produce American energy.
State Senator Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield) said it best: “We produce 80% of California’s oil, 70% of the state’s wind and solar, and over 80% of the in-state battery storage capacity. We are the experts. We are not the enemy.”
Kern County is the backbone of California’s energy economy. They know how to keep the lights on, the jobs flowing, and the gas affordable. It’s a shame Sacramento had to wait until the crisis hit to listen.
Of course, Democrats couldn’t pass this without bowing to their green lobby. The same package that expands drilling also tightens restrictions on offshore oil and extends California’s broken cap-and-trade scheme until 2045. That’s right: even as they admit fossil fuels are essential, they’re doubling down on the taxes, fees, and bureaucracy that make energy unaffordable in the first place.
It’s a classic California two-step: let Kern County save the economy while keeping the eco-left happy with more red tape and virtue signaling.
This bill isn’t about Democrats “embracing” oil. It’s about them admitting failure. After years of attacking fossil fuels, they’re being forced to acknowledge what we’ve said all along: you can’t power a modern economy without oil and gas.
Californians deserve affordable energy and good jobsm, not climate theater that strangles the future. Kern County is ready to deliver. Sacramento should get out of the way.
September 19, 2025