Understanding U.S. Energy Independence
From senior energy analyst Robert Rapier:
Every time someone says “Trump made us energy independent, and we lost that under Biden” — I ask them to back that up.
The most important thing is to get them to define energy independence. What do they think it means? If it means we don’t import oil, then that hasn’t been true since the 1940s. If it means we export more energy than we import, then we became energy independent in 2019 (following a decade of soaring oil and gas production), but we remain energy independent today.
In fact — and here’s another one of those facts you want to tuck away when someone makes the claim — 2021 saw our highest level of energy independence in history. In other words, we are even more energy independent than we were in 2019. Thus, what these people are claiming is the opposite of reality.
You can see the proof at this link that documents how, In 2019, our energy exports were greater than our imports by 0.61 quadrillion Btus (quads). In 2020, that excess grew to 3.47 quads (mainly because imports fell as Covid hit demand) and in 2021 it grew to a new record of 3.82 quads. By that measure, we are more energy independent than we have ever been.
If someone wants to dispute that, they need to explain how they are measuring energy independence. Oh, and I think it’s also notable that the majority of the gap between supply and demand was closed under President Obama.
This is a good example of our society’s acceptance of disinformation. I would be surprised if more than 1% of Republicans understand this, or are even open to examining the truth here.
