The State of Energy · Rocky Mountain Propane Association

Nuclear in Your Backyard, Propane in Your Stocking

·25 min·1 clip

Federal agencies proposed lowering average fuel economy requirements to 34.5 mpg by 2031.

1. The State of Energy episode centers on “Nuclear in Your Backyard, Propane in Your Stocking,” with Randy Witt and Tom Clark talking propane gifts, fuel rules, and nuclear power. 2. Randy Witt is the host, and Tom Clark is the Executive Director of the Rocky Mountain Propane Association, which makes the propane policy and product talk central to the episode. 3. The episode is built around a practical question: which propane products and policy changes matter most for homes, fleets, and energy costs. 4. Clark opens with a holiday list that includes a pizza oven, a portable grill from Home Depot, a Big Horn Outdoors 1500-degree steak grill, a Blackstone portable air fryer, and the Mr. Heater Buddy Flex. 5. The pizza oven is described as a portable 14-inch unit that looks like an Xbox and costs about $500. 6. The portable grill is described as a Cuisine Art model from Home Depot with a hidden green propane tank and a $124 price. 7. The Big Horn Outdoors grill is described as reaching 1500 degrees, costing $265, and earning about 100 reviews with a 4.6 rating. 8. The Blackstone air fryer is described as a propane-powered 3.5-quart cooker that can travel to a campsite, picnic, or beach. 9. The Mr. Heater Buddy Flex is described as an indoor-outdoor radiant heater with a safety shutoff and a $99 price. 10. Randy and Clark then move to the NHTSA and EPA proposal to reduce fuel-economy requirements to 34.5 miles per gallon by 2031. 11. They contrast that proposed number with the 50.4 mpg standard set by Joe Biden and argue that automakers would struggle to meet it in six years. 12. Clark says the rule would raise costs for consumers because manufacturers would have to keep updating engines and meeting stricter emission standards. 13. The hosts connect that argument to their broader claim that emissions rules can make gas-powered vehicles harder to keep affordable. 14. Randy quotes AOC’s 2019 warning that “the world’s going to end in 12 years” and cites the Green New Deal’s 10-year mobilization language. 15. Clark then turns to Bill Gates and says Gates has shifted from climate concerns toward poverty concerns while still pushing nuclear power. 16. The episode names TerraPower in Wyoming and a proposed mini nuclear plant near Brigham City, Utah, as examples of that push. 17. Randy and Clark describe the format as conversational and fast-moving, with jokes about Santa, sports, and holiday weather before the policy talk. 18. The tone stays argumentative but informal, with both hosts trading lines about gas prices, winter, and future energy costs. 19. Listeners who follow propane, vehicle regulation, and Western energy policy will get the most from this episode. 20. Listeners looking for a neutral nuclear primer or a politics-free product show may skip it.

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