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The Manhattan Institute’s Robert Bryce and the Cato Institute’s Jerry Taylor argue the energy independence isn’t necessary because of the global...
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Robert what's wrong with energy independent everybody loves energy independence.
Well I suppose John but why not banana independence and iPod independence.
Look this is this is the most hackneyed phrase in modern American politics we've heard it from every president since the days of Richard Nixon.
The reality is that we live in an ever more integrated global economy and whether we're talking about gasoline -- iPods iphones fresh flowers tennis racquets.
Those markets are all global why would we want to be independent of the world's biggest most important most transparent market it it makes no sense at all.
Because people say we don't need tennis -- and ice cream we need oil we can't rely on these evil countries which evil countries -- -- -- Canada -- I'm not aware of loads of G hobbies in Canada there are biggest provider of of crude -- What's wrong with Canada was wrong with Mexico -- drug for decades have been one of our leading suppliers.
Jerry Taylor you wanna add to that even -- all of our crude oil came from a hole in the ground in Alaska and let's just assume we all got a -- from Alaska where energy independent because of it.
If -- Saudi arabians experienced a terrorist attack and -- some supplier or if there was a war with Iran anyone off the market.
The price of Alaskan crude would be just as high as the price -- say Saudi Gruber Yemen -- or any other crude.
Because it's a global market it doesn't matter it's sort of like if there's a frost in Florida that devastate the -- that citrus crop.
Citrus from California -- to become more expensive -- so energy independence doesn't protect this against supply disruption to -- What about the little girl's claim she said -- fifteen that sort of silly with.
But people say we are gonna right now -- suck the stuff out of the ground and I've heard predictions about when we're gonna around for a long time.
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- simply running room running out.
To believe that we're about to run out of crude oil is to believe that there will no longer be any technological innovations in production.
That there will be no response to high price I find that fairly hard to believe -- that's why we haven't run out yeah I've been hearing it for years President Carter is no dummy Robert.
What's coming that the reality is.
John that the more oil we find the more oil we find let's just look at the last twenty years in in 1990.
US proved oil reserves were about 34 billion barrels.
By 2010.
US proved reserves were about 31 billion barrels but as a reserves we know we can drill for and produced.
Well over that twenty year period the US produced over fifty billion barrels of oil.
So the proved reserves -- Sweden and well again the more oil we find the more oil we find and that's what we found.
Well because as Jerry said its technological innovation the combination of horizontal drilling Jon and hydraulic fracturing which a lot of the environmentalists don't like.
The reality is that this has resulted in enormous.
Amount of natural gas coming to the market so much so that today.
Natural gas is selling for about two dollars two dollars and fifty cents for years ago was selling for ten dollars.
This is a remarkable windfall for the US economy the hard reality is that the oil and gas sector has out innovated.
The solar and wind sectors over the last four years and they've done it in -- How they're spending their own money at -- incentivizes them and to big incentive.
Next myth.
Jerry that -- companies are making disgusting profits.
Well expense well it turns out that the average US manufacturer makes about eight cents of profit and every dollar's worth of earnings the average oil and gas company makes about six cents -- profit on every dollar's worth of oil and gas companies actually -- -- all that well but they do post big numbers right we hear that accepts -- for 34 built in billion this quarter fell seven billion -- -- -- relative to what these are huge companies and their huge because -- they sell a lot of product and invest a lot.
But relative to the size of their business they're actually not particularly profitable industries to -- The next -- where -- our gasoline.
Come from where do we get most of -- -- A country and South America from the east.
I'm not just profits yeah.
Afghanistan Saudi Arabia -- Venezuela.
Canada.
Pride he was getting closer at least hires Robert -- you as you pointed -- we get a lot of oil from Canada but we get most of it from America right.
Well US oil production is increasing rapidly.
And so is production from Brazil.
So that when it comes to the future of US oil use a lot more of it is going to be coming from right here in the Western Hemisphere Canada US Mexico Brazil and less and less from the Middle East.
So why don't people know this almost everybody I asked has no clue.
That most of that comes from the United States because the policy worlds of -- the Middle East conservatives like to argue that we need to be energy dependence so that we can have a foreign policy more to their liking that is disentangle from our reliance on Middle Eastern crude.
Environmentalists want to scare -- away from crude over as they say well talk coming from bad guys abroad and terrorists and we don't want that.
The reality is is the 55% of our crude oil more than half of the comes from the United States that's the number one supplier.
And of the some of the imports that we get 52% of them total all imports are from Canada and Mexico.
The Persian gulf countries are responsible for only about 10% of US consumption -- people think it all comes because -- -- area because this entire conversation is about the Middle East the Middle -- the Middle East the reality is -- -- small contributed US.
