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The press and politicians have fed us this line of being "dangerously dependent on foreign oil." Articles are easy enough to find. It seems to me that we need to look at foreign oil not as a stand-alone item, but in relation to GDP. Since GDP grows, one would expect our use of oil to grow. So the data needs to be normalized somehow. So I gathered the source data - Real GDP (Chained) and Imports of Foreign Oil. I found that the normalizing would be somewhat useless - just a look at the data makes it clear. One of...

President Bush decreased our foreign-oil imports, and nearly flat-lined our natural-gas imports - after record-setting increases in both by Clinton. Includes links to all source data.

BREAKING NEWS: Georgian troops are preparing to defend the town of Gori against the advancing Russian army.

America has an Estimated 1 to 2 Trillion Barrels of oil locked in shale in the Midwest. That could be as much as 8 times the total proven oil reserves of Saudi Arabia. America could be energy independent within 5 years. (Note that this is primarily in the Green River Formation. There is some debate about the Bakken Formation.) Any alternatives to our oil economy are at least 30 years away (possibly never). While there are many ways of extending our oil supplies, and I vigorously support and promote all of them, we can not HOPE our way out of...

A great many confuse hybrid cars with electric cars plugged in to the wall. Hybrids are a completely different animal. Confusing hybrids with electric cars, many raise objections that apply only to electric cars. Hybrids do not use any electricity from the power grid. They run exclusively on gasoline. Many people apparently think that “hybrid” means that a hybrid car is simultaneously a purely electric car and also a traditional car, requiring all the mechanisms of both. Comments reflect the incorrect idea that a hybrid switches between running like a normal car to running like an electric. Comments then suggest...

The United States has as much as 8 times as much oil in the form of "shale oil" as all of Saudi Arabia's oil. America could end all imports of foreign oil if these shale oil resources were developed. The Wall Street Journal editorial page then picked up the theme of accessing America's shale oil resources, shortly after publication in the New Media Journal. America's vast supplies of shale oil has not been tapped because it was too expensive when oil was trading at $19 per barrel. And no one has taken action now that oil has exceeded $137 per...

Hybrid car technology has the potential to cut America’s total consumption of gasoline by 30% within as little as 3 – 5 years. Hybrid cars, generally speaking, can get double the miles per gallon of a comparable old-style car. If half of America’s vehicles were replaced by hybrids getting double the gas mileage, U.S. oil consumption would fall by roughly 30%. (Note that this is not a mini-car...but the same size car with the same strength, safety, and sturdiness). Hybrid cars (and soon buses) use the same type of power train as a diesel-electric locomotive: A diesel engine generates electricity,...

BEIJING — China and the United States on Saturday signed an agreement that paves the way for Westinghouse Electric Co. to build four civilian nuclear reactors in China, a multibillion dollar coup for U.S. business over French and Russian competitors. A memorandum of understanding supporting the transfer of nuclear technology to China was signed by China's Minister for the National Development and Reform Commission Ma Kai and U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman. "This is an exciting day for the U.S. nuclear industry," Bodman said at the ceremony. "It is an example that if we work together we can advance not...

As U.S. demand for energy continues to grow, a top American nuclear official says the United States is seriously considering stepping up its reliance on nuclear power. As Nuclear power already accounts for 20 percent of the U.S. electricity supply. The last nuclear plant to open in the United States was 10 years ago. The new chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Dale Klein, indicated that since U.S. demand for electricity remains strong, nuclear power generation is once again a serious option. "But one of the reasons in the United States that we're looking at building new nuclear plants is...

It's been 20 years since the deadly explosion and fire at Ukraine's Chernobyl nuclear power plant, and with the passing of two decades comes a time of renewed interest in nuclear energy, given the high levels of safety and production at U.S. power plants and the advancement of technology. Industry leaders are calling this the "renaissance of nuclear energy," . . . . . . A partnership called UniStar Nuclear, . . . has told the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) it expects to submit applications to build and operate reactors at both Calvert Cliffs and a site in upstate New...

Bush marks Earth Day with focus on alternative fuels SACRAMENTO, California (Reuters) - President George W. Bush marked Earth Day on Saturday by highlighting technology that could reduce U.S. dependence on oil, while Democrats used a spike in gas prices to criticize White House energy policy. With oil prices hitting a record high this week and gas at the pump topping $3 a gallon in some places, Democrats hoping to win control of the U.S. Congress in November elections seized on the issue to make a populist argument against big oil companies and Republicans' ties to them. Critics are also...

Energy Dependence: Al-Qaida and Democrats in Congress have a curious objective in common — sabotaging the supplies of oil available to America. The Saudi Arabian branch of al-Qaida this week provided religious justification for its attempt last Friday to car-bomb the huge oil-processing complex in the eastern Saudi town of Abqaiq. "Targeting oil interests is legitimate economic jihad," said a 63-page document posted on a militant Islamic Web site. "Oil is the basis of modern industry and the backbone of industries in infidel countries." Of course, through God's wisdom there's also a substantial quantity of oil in North America. But...

Proposals for an alcohol-fueled end to dependence on foreign oil do not sit lightly on the American landscape. Can they fit within our borders at all? State Of The Union speeches tend to cross using figures with speaking figuratively, and this hybrid rhetoric can bear strange fruit, like the switchgrass mania spreading up K Street like kudzu. Math has never been the Beltway's strongest suit, and it will take a while for many in DC to realize that biofuel, like the solar and wind energy franchises already on offer, suffers from sheer lack of real estate. Solar ranching translates into...

It is a shame that you didn't vote to help alleviate our dependence on foreign oil by allowing drilling in the ANWR. Though it would only help a little, any little bit helps and also sends a message that we will do whatever it takes to free ourselves from that horrible OPEC. It is a blatantly political maneuver designed to get more democrats elected and has no bearing on caring for the American people. The science and technology exists and is commonly accepted to drill without harm to the environment. There is no reason environmentally to be against it, unless...

Here's the EconoPundit national energy policy. 1. Impose an immediate and permanent oil import tax set on a sliding scale between $95/bbl and current world price. If world price is $70, the tax is $25/bbl. If world price sinks to $35, the tax automatically rises to $60/bbl. This tax is permanent. Energy costs as seen by households and businesses will initially rise substantially but will quickly stabilize and won't fluctuate even one tiny bit from year to year. What now goes "up and down" is import tax revenue, not domestic energy costs. It is possible there are massive cost reductions...

...These scenarios unfolded in a simulated oil shock wave held Thursday in Washington. Two former CIA directors and several other former top policy-makers participated to draw attention to America's need to reduce its dependence on oil, especially foreign oil. The scenario is intended to show how vulnerable the U.S. and world economies are because of dependence on oil from places where political instability threatens orderly production and distribution. This year the world is consuming about 84 million barrels of oil a day. America alone guzzles about 20.8 million barrels a day. Experts think oil-producing nations have only 1.5 million barrels...

The United States consumes a quarter of the world’s oil, compared to 8% for China. Even with high Chinese growth expected in coming years, the world will not run out of oil anytime soon. Over a trillion barrels of proven reserves exist, and more is likely to be found. But two-thirds of those proven reserves are in the Persian Gulf, and are thus vulnerable to disruption.In the past, rising prices had a strong effect on US oil consumption. Since the price spikes of the 1970’s, US oil consumption per dollar of GDP has fallen by half, which also reflects the...

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Over the past couple of years, evangelicals have taken an increased interest in the environment. You may have read about some of the meetings that have been held recently in Washington. This is a good thing, because evangelicals have often forgotten that we have a stewardship responsibility for all of God’s creation. That means the air we breathe, the water we drink, the wilderness areas we all enjoy. I applaud some of the evangelical leaders who have been pricking our consciences—and some who have been setting good examples by driving fuel-efficient vehicles. But evangelicals need to remember that we are...

The new scramble for Africa risks bringing more misery to the continent's impoverished citizens as western oil companies pour billions of dollars in secret payments into government coffers throughout the continent. Much of the money ends up in the hands of ruling elites or is squandered on grandiose projects and the military. Tony Blair will today urge the oil industry to be more transparent in its dealings with Africa. Openness and accountability are essentials for stability and prosperity in the developing world, he will tell oil company executives and oil exporting countries at a meeting in Lancaster House in central...