Whatever Happened to Energy Independence?

Can you remember any president that didn’t promise that if elected he would see to it that the U.S. would be energy independent in X-years?

I had come of age in 1969. I had graduated high school and I was looking my future in the face. I married in 1973 and gas until that time had been relatively cheap. As a high school student, I can distinctly remember 29-cent gasoline; before that it’s hazy. I remember green stamps for gas. I remember a gasoline war with rewards if you bought your gasoline here as opposed to there. I remember pulling up to the pump in a car full of guys and pooling our money to buy 25-cents worth of gas. What happened?

In 1973, Richard Nixon had started his second term and the first gas crisis hit. Lines of cars spilled out into the streets waiting to get to the pump, odd and even days to buy gas, rumors that ships filled with oil were in a holding pattern off the Jersey coast…otherwise known as the “1973 oil crisis.” Since then every U.S. president has promised oil independence but it seems to be a long time coming. In fact, just when it seems we are in a position to see it happen we have a president that seems to be doing everything possible to prevent it.

Allow me to introduce T. Boone Pickens. Mr. Pickens studied and received his degree in geology. Pickens went to work for Phillips Petroleum and became an expert in the field of energy. Along the way, Mr. Pickens made a name for himself as well as a fortune based on his expertise in energy.

This is important only for me to make a point. The other day I watched an interview of T. Boone Pickens by news correspondent Brett Baier. This is what I gathered from that interview…

Five or so years ago Mr. Pickens, having thought he saw the writing on the wall for the oil industry began to invest in promoting natural gas. Mr. Pickens invested approximately $100 million dollars promoting the development and use of alternative energy sources with an emphasis on natural gas. Looking back from this vantage point and knowing what he knows now, Mr. Pickens stated that he would not do it again given the chance. His point was that the natural gas is there; we have more than anybody else in the world and it was coming whether he spent $100 million promoting it or not. Unfortunately, he was duped by the “Peak Oil” scam. In addition, Mr. Pickens stated that the oil and gas industry in America has succeeded despite all the attempts by the Obama administration to stifle it.

What else did Mr. Pickens have to say? Mr. Pickens stated that he listened to Barack Obama accept the nomination to be the Democratic Party’s nominee to run for the presidency and promise that in ten years we would no longer be importing oil from the Middle East. Sadly, as stated by Mr. Pickens, to his knowledge he has never heard that repeated.

Mr. Pickens went on to state that 17 million barrels of oil pass through the Straits of Hormuz daily and about 10% of that makes its way to the United States. According to Mr. Pickens, we don’t need those 1.7 million barrels. We can get by without it and we have more than enough right here in the United States. There is no need to have our 5^th fleet stationed at that location holding the way open for that oil. Let the Saudis or whoever seeks to transport or buy the oil see to it. We can bring those boys and girls home.

Finally, Mr. Pickens lamented that with all the verbiage coming out of the White House, the fact is that we do not have any real energy plan and never have. We have heard promise after promise of energy independence and yet there is no plan in place to bring that about; only more bloviating from the White House.

Did you vote for Mr. Obama, the Energy President; the President who trifled away billions of dollars on start-up green companies that went belly-up and never produced any real employment opportunities to speak of? This is the same president who continues to block the pipeline thereby stifling the creation of thousands of jobs and the promise of energy independence. Let me ask you, did you get want you bargained for and do you think you’re getting what was promised?