Source: NY Times

America has been talking about energy independence for DECADES ever since the aftermath of the oil embargo with Iran in the late 70′s and even before that.  The Republican party continues to lie to the American people about domestic oil production; they claim that President Obama’s policies with oil and gas are the driving force behind high gas prices; needless to say – they can’t blame Obama for higher gas prices around the world although they’re trying.

You often hear the Republican party only talk about drilling…but they never talk about CONSERVING which is a very important part of the formula that is supply and demand.  Republicans have opposed increasing fuel efficiency standards like the agreement President Obama brokered to increase U.S. fuel efficiency standards to 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025; if the goal is energy INDEPENDENCE – America will have to find more sources of energy within it’s own borders (as it is) but it will also have to use energy more efficiently.   We wrote more on this subject recently in our article: U.S. Oil Production at 12 Year High; GOP Blames Obama.

The NY Times has the story:

Across the country, the oil and gas industry is vastly increasing production, reversing two decades of decline. Using new technology and spurred by rising oil prices since the mid-2000s, the industry is extracting millions of barrels more a week, from the deepest waters of the Gulf of Mexico to the prairies of North Dakota.

At the same time, Americans are pumping significantly less gasoline. While that is partly a result of the recession and higher gasoline prices, people are also driving fewer miles and replacing older cars with more fuel-efficient vehicles at a greater clip, federal data show.

Taken together, the increasing production and declining consumption have unexpectedly brought the United States markedly closer to a goal that has tantalized presidents since Richard Nixon: independence from foreign energy sources, a milestone that could reconfigure American foreign policy, the economy and more. In 2011, the country imported just 45 percent of the liquid fuels it used, down from a record high of 60 percent in 2005.

Source: NY Times

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