Energy: Mission Impossible?

In reality, the United States is actually very self-reliant when it comes to energy. “If we look at total energy – including coal, nuclear and a small but growing share from renewables – the country is over 70% self-sufficient,” wrote Daniel Yergin of Cambridge Energy Research Associates in a January 23 Wall Street Journal commentary.

“The risks do not owe to direct imports from the Middle East, contrary to the widespread belief,” Yergin wrote. “Some 81% of oil imports do not come from that region. Thus, only 19% of imports – and 12% of total petroleum consumption – originates in the Middle East.” He noted that Canada and Mexico are the two largest sources of U.S. oil imports.

But the primary media focus has remained on hostile nations, especially in the Middle East, excluding those facts.

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