Bob McCarty Writes

The United States could be energy independent if it possessed the collective political will to make it happen.  After all, the country has the largest energy reserves on earth, according to a recently-released Congressional Research Service report.

As shown in the first chart below, the United States’ 1,321 billion barrels of oil equivalent (BOE) tops number 2 Russia with 1,248 billion BOE, and number 3 Saudi Arabia with 543 billion BOE.

The second chart shows that the U.S. also holds the world’s largest supply of affordable coal.

So why isn’t the United States energy independent?  Answering that question is actually fairly easy.

For more than 30 years, radical environmentalists and misinformed others — including members of the news media, nonprofit groups and politicians — have worked tirelessly to reshape the eco-political landscape, to paint those in “Big Oil” and “Big Coal” as evil and to frame an argument that says the needs of animals and the environment trump the needs of human beings.

Contrary to the leftist views, the vast majority of firms involved in all stages of the oil and natural gas supply chain operate in a manner that is cleaner and friendlier to animals and the environment than virtually any other industry.  Why?  Because, like most people, they want to leave a clean planet for their children and grandchildren.  In addition, they do it because they have to as a result of being more tightly regulated than perhaps any other industry on the planet.  For a great op-ed about how the industry works today, click here.

And what about the so-called “clean energy” alternatives, wind and solar power?  They haven’t proved themselves economical; otherwise, the “money-hungry fossil fuel executives” would have exploited them for huge financial gain by now (sarcasm).

A third clean-energy alternative, nuclear power, has proven itself, but faces so many environmental and political roadblocks that it’s prospects for expansion are almost nil.  Plus, already-operating nuclear power plants are now forced to deal with how they will dispose of their waste following President Barack Obama’s decision to shutdown Yucca Mountain — a site the government has spent $13 billion to develop over 25 years — as a site for storing it.

EDITOR’S NOTE: If you think our elected officials in Washington, D.C., should focus on truly making this country energy independent by allowing oil and natural gas companies to harvest the vast resources available, CONTACT THEM TODAY and demand they work toward that end.  The result will be an increase in jobs for Americans and a decrease in the costs of goods and services for everyone.