A Ban on Fracking Threatens American Energy Independence

December 18, 2019

The eco-left has been on an apparent warpath against the energy industry. Recently, several Democratic presidential candidates have vowed an outright ban on hydraulic fracturing if elected. What the climate extremists fail to understand is the drastic economic impact this would have on the country and average Americans.

According to The Wall Street Journal:

Ten years ago, the U.S. ranked third in global oil production, trailing Saudi Arabia and Russia.

A decade later, it leads the world in oil as well as natural-gas output, having more than doubled the amount of crude it pumps while raising gas production by roughly two-thirds, according to federal data.

There is a simple reason for the surge: fracking. Horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing techniques spurred a historic U.S. production boom during the decade that has driven down consumer prices, buoyed the national economy and reshaped geopolitics.

The surge in shale drilling has brought economic prosperity to the U.S. and millions of jobs to Americans across the country. But most importantly, it secured a domestic supply of oil that allowed the U.S. to become energy independent – providing the country with a blanket of security and diplomatic influence.

Author Daniel Yergin, who is Vice Chairman at IHS Market said, “At the beginning of the decade, energy independence was still a joke for late-night television comedians. Turn around a decade later, and we’re here.”

So why would the far-left want to take the country back a decade in global diplomacy and prosperity? American energy workers who provide this security and prosperity deserve better than ignorant politicians, their ill-informed bans and myopic policies.