U.S. is more energy secure than you realize.
Robert Bryce's piece on the newly launched RealClearScience on the "Looming Rare Earths Train Wreck" is worth a read. While the piece is ostensibly aimed at shooting down the hype over electric cars, it can also be read as an antidote to concerns about nascent "Iranian hegemony" over the Persian Gulf:
The diversity and size of the global oil market provides the U.S. with real energy security. The numbers tell the tale. In 2009, the U.S. imported an average of 11.7 million barrels per day of crude or refined oil products from 82 different countries while it exported â?? yes, exported -- an average of 2 million barrels per day to customers in 83 countries.And hereâ??s even better news for energy security: domestic oil production is increasing. In 2009, America produced an average of 5.3 million barrels per day, the highest level since 2004.
Obviously, Iran has the potential to cause oil prices to spike temporarily, causing serious economic pain to consuming nations in the short term. But the U.S. has a lot more energy security than all the worrying about the Persian Gulf would suggest.
(AP Photo)
