Obama

Have you ever wondered what “energy independence” even means?  Every year, more and more people – politicians, media pundits, oil companies, environmental groups, and T. Boone Pickens – call for it. 

 But what does energy independence mean? The answer depends on who you ask.  Some think we will be energy independent when don’t have to import oil from Venezuela and the Middle East.  All oil and natural gas should be made in the U.S.A. or imported from friendly countries, like Canada.  Others seem to imply that energy independence is independence from fossil fuels in general.  They promote the use of wind, solar, geothermal, and other forms of alternative energy.

For the most part, proponents of energy independence don’t spell out exactly what they mean by the term.  Like many concepts politicians bandy about (the War on Drugs and the War on Terror are two great examples), conditions for victory are either incoherent, impossible (“we will stop all illegal drug use,” “we will kill all the terrorists”), or more just not spelled out at all.