Last week’s column and in this week’s column, I address questions that I have been asked regarding energy issues and views.
-How has the energy picture changed in the past five years, from a global perspective?
In 2008, the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) were the focus, with economic experts predicting they would become the growing powers for the twenty-first century. As the world’s consumption continued to increase, analysts thought it might be difficult for current levels of production to satisfy demand. Today, China is already taking 38 percent more oil from the Middle East than the United States, and its electricity consumption is projected to nearly triple over the next decade. But the world remains heavily dependent on oil from Saudi Arabia, Russia, and Iran—all of which are politically unstable. The United States needs an abundance of oil which makes a strong case for why “America Needs America’s Energy”.
-What are the major variables that impact the energy industry in America?
The major moving parts that impact us in the energy industry can include increasing demand, terrorism, and inadequate government policy. The good news is that recent finds of oil and gas reserves in our country mean production is far from peaking, and demand continues on the upside for both transportation and power generation in a digital age. Meantime, we face continual terrorist threats and suffer from government policy focused solely on alternative energy options that, while potentially attractive in the long-run, cannot meet the demand in our country in the near future.
-What are the most common misconceptions about the energy industry?
For years the public perception of the energy industry has been that of fat cats, ruthless J. R. Ewing types who make a killing off oil in their own backyard, when nothing could be further from the truth. Today 60 percent of our domestic oil production comes from thousands of average Americans who operate wells producing ten barrels or less a day but provide these people with a living. And now, hundreds of everyday citizens who own land and royalty rights in Pennsylvania, for example, are benefiting from oil and gas lease bonuses.
As for “windfall profits”, US oil and gas companies’ net profit margins lag far behind several industrial sectors. Another bogus idea is that energy companies do not pay their fair share of taxes when, in reality they do. This is another reason why “America Needs America’s Energy” because relying on our own sources not only adds to our tax coffers, but creates jobs that
stimulate the economy.
America Needs America’s Energy!
Together we can create the People’s Energy Plan! Go to www.peoplesenergyplan.com to join the effort. Facebook: America Needs America’s Energy with over 8500 supporters plus and growing. — America Needs America’s Energy: Creating Together the People’s Energy Plan!