Many Facebook friends have posted recently bemoaning America's supposed dependence on noxious regimes such as Venezuela, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Russia for part of our oil supply. Somehow, they imply that if only we could produce all the oil we consume, prices at the pump would fall to some tolerable level.
Like it or not, we live in an interconnected world. If the price of oil on the world market soars to $200.00 per barrel do we really think Exxon-Mobil, Chevron, et. al. would keep all their oil in fortress America and charge less than the going price. I've got a bridge for sale. We are already a net exporter of oil and distilled petroleum products. We could turn the public lands of this country into a wasteland of drilling rigs and it still won't change the equation. According to economic experts, oil is a product with inelastic demand. A few percent more or less can produce wild price swings.
The only way to real energy independence is to get off the oil habit and switch to renewables.
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