, Columnist
Don’t Believe the U.S. Energy Independence Hype
Simply producing more than you consume might qualify as self-sufficiency, but not true independence.
Shale has boosted oil production, but not brought independence.
Photographer: Daniel Acker/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The U.S. is energy independent, right? Well, that’s what some politicians would have you believe, but it’s not really true in any meaningful sense of the word “independent.”
In its broadest sense, energy independence can be taken to mean that the country produces more energy than the country consumes. That is the basis on which politicians make the claim, but it conceals a whole host of mutual dependencies with foreign states that cannot be ignored. I would argue that the situation is more accurately described as self-sufficiency rather than true independence.