Voters who care about national security issues must also care about America's energy security. [emphasis, links added]
Modern society cannot continue to function without abundant, affordable, and uninterrupted energy to power the technologies that make modern life possible. Whether you like it or not, it is an inevitable fact of life.
No development this century has done more to improve U.S. energy security than the combination of hydraulic fracturing (or “fracking,” as it came to be known) and horizontal drilling.
The combination of these two underappreciated drilling technologies allows U.S. drillers to extract oil and natural gas from vast shale formations that were considered inaccessible for more than 150 years.
As we entered the 21st century, the U.S. oil and gas industry was considered a moribund and dying industry.
The United States relies on foreign imports to meet its oil needs due to low commodity prices and dwindling conventional formations to mine, and appears destined to need to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) as its domestic natural gas fields become increasingly depleted.
The country's energy security levels are very low, as is the controllability of its oil supply chain.
The shale revolution of the past quarter-century has turned the status quo upside down. Today, the United States is the world's most powerful producer of oil and natural gas and a net exporter of both major commodities.
Moreover, as S&P Global Vice Chairman Daniel Yergin (author of the best-selling books “The Prize” and “The New Map”) recently wrote in the Wall Street Journal, America’s energy prowess is also critical to many of its key allies. It's important.
“Japan and South Korea have come to rely on U.S. energy exports, which has proven critical to diversifying supply and enhancing security.” Yergin pointed out. “Losing this contribution would make them more vulnerable, reduce their confidence in U.S. reliability and could prompt them to import from Russia.”
In addition, Yergin noted that U.S. shale oil production, which accounts for more than half of its oil and natural gas, also contributes to our geopolitical influence.
“One of the several misjudgments Vladimir Putin made when he invaded Ukraine was that he could use energy to crush the European alliance that supported Kiev,” Yergin said.
“His strategy failed as large supplies of LNG, driven by increased exports from Norway, made up for the loss of Russian gas. In 2023, nearly half of the EU's LNG supplies will come from the United States, mostly processed from shale gas, making the United States the largest supplier.“
Restrictions on LNG supplies imposed by the U.S. federal government would seriously harm European energy security and undermine NATO's ability to achieve its goals in the war with Russia and Ukraine.
Ten months into the Biden-Harris administration's weak and irrational “pause” on LNG infrastructure permitting, U.S. influence in the global LNG market has been eroded, Harris' supporters in the climate warning industry hope Make it permanent.
A fracking ban enacted during Harris’s presidency would quickly return the United States to its 20th-century status as a minor player in global energy markets.
Unfortunately, despite Harris' campaign claiming in August that she had changed her mind about a fracking ban she had supported multiple times during her tenure in the U.S. Senate, The candidates themselves have been consistently obtuse on the issue.
That leaves voters with no idea what actions she will ultimately take once she is safely in the Oval Office in January.
“A ban on fracking is both misguided and damaging to the United States and its allies,” Yergin wrote. “The often disjointed debate on this topic needs to be set aside in light of a core fact: Shale oil is critical to the U.S. economy and global energy security.“
Of course, he's right, and for voters who put national security first, there's a simple way to ensure America's energy security is maintained on Election Day: Whatever one may think of Trump, his stance on maintaining the legalization of fracking, thereby maintaining America’s strong level of energy and natural security, is anything but retarded.
It's not difficult.
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