10 Comments

Define energy independent for us. We've been a net exporter of petroleum products since 2011. We've been a net exporter of oil and petroleum products since 2021, and are only marginally a net importer of crude oil.

The "energy independence" talking point seems like hollow (but perhaps good) political sloganeering.

I don't think we need to do much with respect to the frackers. Previous spikes in oil prices have shown how resilient frackers are and how quickly they bring on supply. There are already stories of frackers returning to once abandoned regions. Biden should just take credit for what's going to happen (like eventual lowering inflation) but not stress too much about financing these efforts IMO.

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One quibble: the State of the Union address is meant to be an agenda setter for the country, not the party. That it has become so partisan is another indication of how are politics have deteriorated into doctrinaire performance art instead of thoughtful and engaged governance.

To the end of increasing our energy independence as we transition to a lower/zero carbon economy, if there is to be a huge federal program of support for sustainable generation, why not commit several billion to the installation of PV and wind turbine systems on houses and apartment buildings as part of distributed mini-grids that would reduce the need for large scale construction projects that support the legacy power industry more than they do anything else?

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Actually it is meant to be about guinea pigs.

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If I believed that, I'd watch; guinea pigs are cool.

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If I was Biden I'd tell the unvarnished truth and talk about how cute guinea pigs are. Probably for the best I'm not Biden.

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The big issue in the oil and gas industry right now (at least in the Permian Basin) is a lack of steel casing and sand for fracking. It's not that the E&P companies need capital so much as there are real constraints on the supply side (sand and steel)

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Looking forward to a podcast episode about energy and energy policy!

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Any chance this becomes some sort of an "energy eye opener" that gets leaders around the world to start thinking longer term and strategically after this war is sorted out.

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Liz Bruenig and Tim Carney - looking forward to that!

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