California’s Green Nightmare Has Newsom Looking to Oil & Gas
By Ross Trumble
Newsom’s Oil & Gas U‑Turn: Green Dreams Collapse Across the Globe
Gavin Newsom is walking a political tightrope these days on oil and gas production in California. Don’t look now, but he may finally be wobbling toward reality. After years of aggressive green energy posturing, Newsom’s administration is now proposing measures that would support oil and gas drilling, both onshore and offshore, in response to rising gas prices and grid instability.
Let’s not forget, he’s termed out as Governor, tainted by a wildfire that ripped through Los Angeles, a homeless problem across the state that only seems to get worse and if he left office today, that would be his legacy. Newsom knows he can’t let the looming gasoline supply crisis be the knockout blow to any future political aspirations.
Newsom’s pivot is happening not just out of pragmatism, but out of necessity. California’s green agenda is colliding with the physical limits of its infrastructure, and the political blowback is growing. This isn’t just about policy, but about keeping the lights on and the gas pumps full.
The Green Dream Hits Reality
Across the globe, reality is catching up with climate absolutists. Spain, once a model of green energy ambition, is now rolling back subsidies as electricity prices soar and public patience wears thin. In New Orleans, blackouts during a fairly routine July heatwave left thousands sweltering in the dark. To the growing list of Green Energy skeptics, this was simply further proof that rushing to renewables without a solid foundation is the set up for failure.
California isn’t immune. Even Politico noted that “frustration with gas prices” is forcing Democrats to consider a suite of reforms that would have been unthinkable a year ago: fuel credit caps, streamlined permits for oil infrastructure, and expanded refinery inventories.
And now, the same Gavin Newsom who proudly pledged to phase out oil drilling by 2045 is, at least quietly for now, helping keep the fossil fuel lifeline intact.
“Trying to Have It Both Ways”
A recent San Francisco Chronicle headline put it bluntly: “Newsom is trying to have it both ways with the petroleum industry.” That about sums it up.
Behind the scenes, the administration has floated draft legislation to “streamline new drilling in existing oil fields,” according to Politico. Another bill would mandate a 20-day inventory of refined fuels statewide. This is a tacit admission that the current system is too brittle to handle even minor supply shocks.
This backroom deal-making comes as the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is advancing new offshore drilling. Amplify Energy, the company behind the infamous 2021 Huntington Beach oil spill, has announced it’s restarting operations with a new well offshore California in August.
“Amplify anticipates first production from the new sidetrack well in early August 2025,” the company said in a statement. The California-based offshore driller resuming production with federal approval is an undeniable sign of the tide turning.
Four G Media Contributor Ross Trumble
The Pressure Cooker
So why the shift? Look no further than California’s contradictory energy position.
On one hand, the state has ambitious emissions targets and has moved to ban new internal combustion vehicle sales by 2035. Of course last month President Trump signed resolutions banning these mandates. Was Newsom quietly cheering?
On the other, it’s facing looming refinery closures, rolling brownouts, and a fuel market so volatile that it has to cap the price of credits just to maintain stability.
Newsom has always sold himself as a climate crusader, but he’s also a political survivor. When gas prices hover near $6 and labor unions demand protection for fossil fuel workers, ideological purity gives way to political math.
“Californians are demanding reliable and affordable energy,” said one state assemblymember anonymously to the Chronicle. “And right now, that means oil still plays a role, whether the Governor wants to admit it or not.”
Even Newsom’s own agencies admit the tightrope act. “The administration is weighing how to maintain refinery output and protect consumers without derailing its climate goals,” noted a recent Politico report.
They’re arguing for a contradiction for now, but how long before they drop the facade of living up to unmanageable “climate goals?” Reality is calling and it’s getting louder in the Golden State.
Offshore Drilling Returns
The return of offshore drilling is the biggest headline no one in Sacramento wants to talk about. Amplify’s project will reactivate wells off the Orange County coast that were shut down after the 2021 spill. The startup, expected this August, signals that the federal government and by extension, Newsom’s California, is quietly blessing fossil fuel expansion.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported that “up to 684,000 acres of public land across 17 counties, including parts of the Bay Area are now under federal review for drilling.” That’s not a climate utopia. That’s a fossil fuel expansion zone.
And yet, the administration insists this isn’t a walk-back. In response to criticism, Newsom’s office claimed it was “pursuing a just transition,” but offered little clarity on what that actually means.
The San Francisco Chronicle’s editorial board warned: “Absent a plan, refineries will close, and the state will be left scrambling to find fuel sources.” Communities that depend on oil jobs will be stranded.
That’s the real risk: a transition that pleases the press release crowd but abandons working families and destabilizes the economy.
The 2026 Equation
With a potential 2026 Senate or presidential run always rumored, Newsom’s latest moves are clearly an attempt to shore up support across his fractured base. But he will find himself in the crosshairs of the people many are now calling “The Green Cult.” If it’s not a true cult, it’s certainly an exercise in grandiose fantasy that is already turning out the lights across the planet.
Voters may simply see through the “have it both ways” strategy and Newsom will be hammered by the Greenies, but being a punching bag and laughing stock have never seemed to give him much pause.
In the end, California’s green fantasy is colliding with the hard truth of energy demand. The state can’t run on ideology. It needs oil, gas and power. And it desperately needs a plan that includes all three.
And maybe, just maybe, Gavin Newsom is starting to realize that.
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