The recent Islamist uprising in Egypt is sending shock waves throughout the world, and it is still unclear what the final effects will be. But Egypt has made one conclusion very clear. The energy policy of the United States is short-sighted, ineffective, and dangerous.
Egypt’s turmoil has already boosted oil prices significantly, and the effect of a change in government will doubtlessly eclipse those modest increases. As long as the United States depends on oil imports from the Middle East for a major percentage of its needs, we will be held hostage to political unrest in that region. It is equally obvious that a stable Middle East is highly unlikely in the foreseeable future. Consequently, the petroleum supply of the United States will be under threat indefinitely.
If the United States had no alternative to imported oil, we would be forced to impose order on the Middle East, requiring a much more intrusive foreign policy in that region. But we do have alternatives to Middle East petroleum which promise independence from imported oil. Unfortunately, all of these alternatives have been curtailed by the current administration and Democrat policy for the last half century.
Nuclear energy, a safe and plentiful source of power, has been hobbled by excessive regulation and litigation. Over 400 nuclear power facilities in 31 nations reliably provide 17% of the world’s electricity. The United States has the technology, resources and certainly the need for nuclear energy, but we lag far behind France, which gets 80% of its electricity from nuclear power. Still, while Democrats encourage the peaceful use of nuclear energy by our enemies, such as North Korea and Iran, they stand solidly against American expansion of nuclear power for our own energy needs.
The United States also has vast fossil fuel resources that remain untapped, due to environmental concerns and burdensome regulation. The Green River Formation in the Rocky Mountain states is the largest deposit of oil shale in the world. Even if only half of the estimated 1.5 trillion barrels of oil shale deposit is recoverable, it represents roughly three times the amount of petroleum reserves of Saudi Arabia–enough to supply American petroleum needs for the next century.
The United States also has vast energy deposits in Alaska and off our West and Gulf coasts. Recovery of offshore oil was temporarily halted by the Obama administration following the BP Gulf spill, idling a once-vital industry and thousands of its workers. Access to the 17 billion barrels of oil and 34 trillion cubic feet of natural gas the Alaska National Wildlife Reserve of Alaska has been denied by environmentalists and their Democrat allies in Congress.
Add the vast natural gas resources throughout the continental United States, or the still plentiful coal deposits we possess, and it becomes evident that Americans have access to abundant energy in many forms. Yet we continue to import expensive foreign oil while hobbling domestic energy producers.
Tapping America’s energy resources would immediately lower the price of oil worldwide; reduce the influence of and American economic support for unfriendly oil exporting nations; and provide an unprecedented (and real) economic stimulus in this nation by creating jobs, expanding industry, and developing new technology.
All that is required is that our government encourage and support domestic energy producers rather than discourage and punish them with excessive regulation, taxation, and restrictions. All that is required is a national will to develop and use our own energy resources for domestic use. All that is required is an understanding of how valuable our energy reserves are, and a clear vision of the future they can provide.
The Egyptian situation is the latest in a long string of wake-up calls to rethink and adjust American energy policy to something more rational. This nation’s energy reserves can restore our economy, fuel our advancement, and insulate us from the inevitable shocks from unstable oil exporting countries. It’s time to tap our natural wealth and become truly energy independent.
