"... I emphasize privatizing regulation of access to domestic energy sources as the critical first step."
I'm all for it. Drill Alaska, off of the coast of California and Florida, and in federal forests.
Drill like mad.
But don't get too worked up about it. Almost the entire German war machine of WW2 was run off of coal oil, something that becomes economically viable here in the U.S. today if oil stays above $45 per barrel for any great length of time...and the U.S. has more coal than the rest of the world combined. We can make coal oil long after Saudi Arabia has bled their last oil well dry.
What crude oil does is give us *cheap* energy. But replacements for crude (e.g. coal oil, propane, nuclear, solar, etc.) are simply a little more expensive.
Not a lot, just a little more expensive. We can live without them if we have to. Knock 5% off of one year's GDP and 2.5% off of the next and you'd probably come reasonably close to how we'd look if there was no more black crude oil for whatever reason.
But don't get too worked up about it. Almost the entire German war machine of WW2 was run off of coal oil, something that becomes economically viable here in the U.S. today if oil stays above $45 per barrel for any great length of time...and the U.S. has more coal than the rest of the world combined. We can make coal oil long after Saudi Arabia has bled their last oil well dry. This shows how little you understand the problem. Having the coal is one thing. Having the mining infrastructure to ramp up production is another, especially with regard to sufficient skilled personnel. The situation is similar in virtually every resource business, from farming to timber. Regulation has virtually destroyed whole industries. They don't just restart at the drop of a hat.
"I'm all for it. Drill Alaska, off of the coast of California and Florida, and in federal forests."
"Drill like mad."
The administration is doing something interesting. The US is continuously buying oil and putting it into the Stategic Oil Reserve. Eventually, all the OPEC oil will be ours.