Energy independence in 5 years??

[nwobcw]

  I thought it was well known about drilling and fracking in Ohio.  I received contracts for each land parcel I own last 2011, summer.   Farm Bureau held a meeting last fall explaining it all to us.  The main thing I got out of the forum was don't even breathe around the oil guys without your lawyer present.   The back 40 on the home place here has an old stub casing of an oil well on it.  Dad bought it in 1953 so any oil activity here was before that.   I haven't heard anything since.

[DismalScience]

And the Middle East is no longer an area of strategic importance.  Will we withdraw our troops and capture the peace dividend.   Doubtful as the politicians like war and the war on terror as do the citizenry. 

[rusureofit]

"We do NOT produce more crude than we import"

Really????  In 2011 we produced 55% and imported 45%.....Isn't 55% more than 45%?

Here are the facts from the Government:

http://www.eia.gov/energy_in_brief/foreign_oil_dependence.cfm

[Palouser]

You said, "The stats already show that we are already energy independant.  We export more oil products than we import [referring to refined products].  We produce more fuel than we use [again, refined ..].  The reason for any imports is simply to keep the refineries running at full capacity to make more money. " [unquote]

In terms of crude we are NOT energy independent. It's true we refine more of some pproducts such as gasoline and ship out some to other markets w/o refining capacity. This is what I was apparently clumsily trying to point out.

So, we are not energy independent. Yes, we produce more of our markets crude than the quantity we import. Ya caught me on that one. Thanks 

[Red Steele]

Wouldn't this be similar to Japan or China importing our iron ore and exporting steel products? Who would you say then owned the steel industry...the third world location where the ore came from, or the industrialized nation that makes the steel? Wouldn't it be better to have the steel industry ?

I guess that one of the largest construction projects in MN history is going on now, to end up with a plant in Northern MN that actually produces steel instead of just having a mining operation. BIg success story that is almost a decade in the making. Hopefully we will see much more of this type of economic activity in the years to come. Growing the American economy...broadening the tax base...getting a bigger pie to slice up.