ENERGY INDEPENDENCE ON THE HORIZON - The Power Surge: Energy, Opportunity, and the Battle for America's Future - page 64

AMSO is drilling deep to try to entirely avoid the layers that hold
groundwater. Whether any of these will work, and gain public trust,
remains to be seen.

m m m

Adding up the prospects from all the dif erent U.S. oil resources quickly
leads to a conclusion that, in principle, U.S. oil production has the
potential for very large gains. But a fundamental question remains: Is
this good news just for the oil industry, or could it have much bigger
consequences for the United States? At er all, oil is special. It evokes
intense worries about vulnerability to high prices, hostile foreign pro-
ducers, and nefarious oil companies closer to home. h ere is good
reason to think that oil is dif erent: if the price of oil spikes, or an oil
shortage hits, you have no large-scale alternative to oil-based fuels for
your car. Oil has been the subject of frequent fret ing since it burst on
the scene over a century ago, but contemporary worries can be traced
back to the 1970s—those who were alive during the 1973 energy crisis
can remember how the U.S. economy was knocked on its back by hos-
tile Middle Eastern suppliers and how U.S. national security was funda-
mentally undermined as a result. h ose who weren't there to experience
it have heard the tales of gas lines and economic turmoil, and drivers
all continue to confront the reality of high prices at the pump.
For many people, this is why the promise of a renaissance in U.S.
oil looks so exciting. Before 1973, the United States didn't depend on
imports from abroad, let alone from a shaky Middle East. (It imported
some oil, but by choice, not necessity; its goal was to conserve U.S.
resources for the future.) At er 1973, everything changed. “h is is the
energy equivalent of the Berlin Wall coming down,” says Robin West,
an authority on oil markets who served in the Ford and Reagan admin-
istrations. “Just as the trauma of the Cold War ended in Berlin, so the
trauma of the 1973 oil embargo is ending now.” 35
It's a common sentiment. Critics, though, take umbrage with claims
that domestic oil production will slash prices, insulate the economy, or
transform U.S. national security. In early 2012, Media Mat ers, a liberal
research organization, collected quotes in a report called “20 Experts