“WE CAN NOW assess the future of natural gas exports based on the facts.” So declared Jennifer Granholm, America’s outgoing energy secretary, in a statement published on December 17th. It accompanied a research report from the Department of Energy (DoE) on the implications of increased exports of American liquefied natural gas (LNG). Despite her reassuring tone, this was a sharp-elbowed effort to place an obstacle in the way of the incoming Trump administration.