The misconception of Energy Independence, revisited!

WTF's Avatar
  • WTF
  • 09-11-2022, 01:13 PM
When you advocate energy independence, you show how very little you understand the market

https://www.resources.org/common-res...-independence/


So, when the United States cut off Russian oil imports, did the United States become “independent” of Russian oil? Anything but.

Because the oil market is global, a decrease in supply (or an increase in demand) anywhere in the world will raise prices for everyone. These price spikes will occur regardless of how much oil we import and where those imports come from. Indeed, the high prices that consumers are facing around the world demonstrate just how dependent the United States is—along with every other nation—on decisions made in Moscow, Riyadh, Beijing, and elsewhere

https://www.resources.org/common-res...-independence/
  • Tiny
  • 09-11-2022, 03:16 PM
I scanned it. This guy Raimi's a fucking idiot. Yeah, we're a net importer of crude oil. But we've been a net exporter of crude oil and petroleum products off and on since December, 2019. We import oil, refine it, and then ship out the products as exports. And Raimi ignores our considerable exports of natural gas and coal. His argument that the consumer pays the same at the pump regardless of how much oil the USA produces mostly disregards the effect of incremental U.S. production on the global price. And it's bizarre how he attempts to relate that to "energy independence." He also disregards the effect of domestic oil and gas production on our trade deficit and energy security, and the positive effect on many Americans who work in the oil patch.

And OK, let's use the term "energy security" instead of "energy independence." Our energy security would be enhanced considerably if certain Democratic Party politicians weren't working to stop construction of pipelines, discouraging refiners from maintaining capacity, and coming up with existential threats to the oil and gas industry (e.g., going to "0" net carbon emissions, banning drilling permits on and issuance of federal leases, banning fracking.)

Think about the Keystone XL pipeline expansion. Wouldn't it have improved our energy security to have those barrels going to our refineries instead of the Canadian west coast? Of course.
WTF's Avatar
  • WTF
  • 09-11-2022, 03:46 PM
You're showing a less than nuanced understanding of what you read vs what your preconceived notions are.

Aaron an aside....do you realize how much money the energy sector lost while doing the drill baby drill,, nonsense?

Jesus
...I feel as if I'm trying to convince a toothless lid that there is no Tooth Fairy!
WTF's Avatar
  • WTF
  • 09-12-2022, 06:29 AM
But as many energy experts have argued before, energy independence is the wrong goal. In fact, seeking independence from the global energy system would be counterproductive, regardless of whether we’re talking about fossil fuels or clean energy technologies. In this blog post, I’ll try to argue why it’s finally time to let go of the alluring yet misleading concept of energy independence.