Energy Resources: America is #1
Jane Van Ryan
Posted November 10, 2009
Last week's blog post showing that the United States is #1 in total energy resources generated some buzz in the blogosphere. To recap, the post noted that the Congressional Research Service (CRS) found that the United States has resources amounting to 1,321 billion barrels of oil equivalent (BOE) which was substantially higher than any other country.
Most importantly, the CRS found that only 13 percent of U.S. energy resources have been tapped, with 87 percent still available for development.
I shared this study with several bloggers, many of whom wrote their own posts about the United States' abundant resources:
- Prairie Pundit criticized the nation's current energy policies and stated simply, "It is time to unleash the energy potential of this country."
- R-Squared Energy Blog wrote, "Of course it goes without saying that government policies will heavily influence which resources are developed, and over what time period. My guess is that over the next few years we will favor policies that are intended to wean us off of fossil fuels. While I applaud good intentions--and in fact my new job is all about moving developing fossil fuel replacements--I expect we are going to see more than a few unintended consequences. The one I am most concerned about is heavily disincentivizing domestic production, but not having an adequate answer for the domestic production shortfall. In this case, while more alternative energy may be the target, more oil imports may be the unintended consequence."
- Captain Capitalism reported the findings of the CRS report and commented, "This testifies to something we've on the adult side of the political spectrum have known all along, but still find ourselves having to remind the child side of the political spectrum: THERE IS NO ENERGY CRISIS. This is a self inflicted crisis."
- Bob McCarty Writes noticed that "Members of the mainstream media--people who call themselves 'journalists' --seem to have paid absolutely no attention to a Congressional Research Service report on energy released Oct. 27--despite the fact that two energy-related measures (i.e., the Kerry-Boxer and Waxman-Markey) are at the center of heated debate now taking place on Capitol Hill. I used Google News Search this morning to search for the use of the exact phrase, "Congressional Research Service," and either of the terms, 'Kerry-Boxer' or 'Waxman-Markey', during the past month. Only eight results surfaced."
API believes that the United States could have a sound, forward-looking energy policy encompassing a wide range of energy resources if the American public and policymakers knew more about energy. Take the time to educate yourself on energy. Start here by taking the Energy IQ quiz and learning the facts.