The New York Times Benjamin Alter and Edward Fishman
JUST
as the world was writing off America as a declining power, the country now
finds itself on the cusp of realizing one of its longstanding goals: energy
independence.
A
wave of new technologies has made it possible to extract oil and gas from shale
rock formations, and the results have been astonishing. By some estimates, the
United States is on track to overtake Saudi Arabia as the world’s largest oil
producer as early as 2017, start exporting more oil and gas than it imports by
2025, and achieve full energy self-sufficiency by 2030.
American
politicians in both parties have long dreamed of energy independence — not only
for its potential economic benefits, but also because it could free the United
States from the vicissitudes of the outside world.
Last
March, President Obama said that new energy sources and technologies would make
America “less dependent on what’s going on in the Middle East.” The Romney
campaign, meanwhile, argued that energy independence would mean that “the
nation’s security is no longer beholden to unstable but oil-rich regions
halfway around the world.”
But
that is a fantasy. While the latest energy revolution will be a boon to
America’s economy, it will in no way allow the United States to turn its back
on the rest of the world.
