The U.S. Just Became a Net Oil Exporter for the First Time in 75 Years:
America turned into a net oil exporter last week, breaking almost 75 years of continued dependence on foreign oil and marking a pivotal -- even if likely brief -- moment toward what U.S. President Donald Trump has branded as "energy independence."
The shift to net exports is the dramatic result of an unprecedented boom in American oil production, with thousands of wells pumping from the Permian region of Texas and New Mexico to the Bakken in North Dakota to the Marcellus in Pennsylvania.
While the country has been heading in that direction for years, this week's dramatic shift came as data showed a sharp drop in imports and a jump in exports to a record high. Given the volatility in weekly data, the U.S. will likely remain a small net importer most of the time.
"We are becoming the dominant energy power in the world," said Michael Lynch, president of Strategic Energy & Economic Research. "But, because the change is gradual over time, I don't think it's going to cause a huge revolution, but you do have to think that OPEC is going to have to take that into account when they think about cutting."
The shale revolution has transformed oil wildcatters into billionaires and the U.S. into the world's largest petroleum producer, surpassing Russia and Saudi Arabia. The power of OPEC has been diminished, undercutting one of the major geopolitical forces of the last half century.
I can see short-term benefits (avoiding another 1973 Oil Crisis), but am concerned about the long-term strategy. Given a fixed supply of oil, isn't the US just racing to deplete its resources and therefore setting itself up for a later "oil crisis"? The only hope I see is a huge and continued emphasis in transitioning to alternative energy sources (be it solar, wind, and/or nuclear) and thus ween itself from dependence on foreign supplies.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by khallow on Monday December 10 2018, @01:15AM (6 children)
And I see you ignore economic time value [wikipedia.org] here. Yes, it is wasting those resources. There is nothing we'd be using those resources for in a thousand years, especially when adjusted for sitting on the resource for a thousand years (and moving on to non-fossil fuel resources as well), that is more valuable than what we could do with it now.
Remember the benefits and wealth of our societies accumulate over that thousand year period too. If we accumulate many such poor decisions as forgoing a valuable resource for some purely imaginary future benefit a thousand years from now, then what sort of impoverished society will we have left in a thousand years?
You're the only one displaying a hugely flawed understanding of the future beyond that remaining lifespan.
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Monday December 10 2018, @02:48AM (5 children)
Nowhere in this thesis is there value assigned to persons not yet born, nor the value of ecosystems which are fundamental to the survival of all people. If that is not viewed as fundamentally flawed, then the future is doomed.
But, what do you care? You'll be dead.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 2, Insightful) by khallow on Monday December 10 2018, @03:37PM (4 children)
There are two flaws in your claim. First, there's no point to making things worse now so that we can have a worse future as well. Way too many of the climate change fixes make high fertility people poorer now. That means more people in a worse future later. Meanwhile what we save now by not pursuing harmful and counterproductive climate change mitigation strategies goes to making a better future. Second, time value works beautifully for the very things you speak of. Assign value to these future things and you still have time value.
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Monday December 10 2018, @05:55PM (3 children)
Name your fallacy: https://thebestschools.org/magazine/15-logical-fallacies-know/ [thebestschools.org]
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 1) by khallow on Monday December 10 2018, @07:33PM (2 children)
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Monday December 10 2018, @08:43PM (1 child)
Prescient, are we?
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 1) by khallow on Tuesday December 11 2018, @02:48AM